Regaining Her Footing
by doctorsuez
Summary: Spoilers through the first few episodes of Season 4. Contains a mix of fluff, science, and cast interaction. Please read and review at your leisure. Brennan is injured and has to slow down in order to recover.
1. The Fall

**A/N -- I've read fanfic for quite a while, but never written. Please be gentle, I may never write again after this, but I had to give it a try, if for no other reason, but to meet the requirements to be a Beta. Sorry if this is cheesy or out of character. I welcome constructive criticism and I can tolerate regular criticism. I put on my big girl pants today.**

_Disclaimer--I don't own Bones or any of the characters. This story is strictly for entertainment purposes._

It had truly been a long, hard summer for Temperance Brennan and the staff of the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal lab. Temperance herself was used to overcoming hard situations, but some of the others were not. This "hard" time had begun with Booth's death / undeath. They had literally watched the life flow out of the center of their group on the floor of the Checkerbox Restaurant that spring evening. The team then had to lay Booth to rest. Ironically, they found out that day, that he wasn't dead. After watching Brennan knock him flat only a few feet away from his would be grave, the team wondered if things would ever be the same between this dynamic duo.

Unfortunately, they barely had time to contemplate the ramifications of Booth's undeath before they were faced with another death of sorts. Their friend and coworker, Zack Addy made a choice that would change their team forever. As Hodgins put it, "He joined forces with a serial killer who was the last in a long line of cannibalistic murders specializing in knocking off members of secret societies and building skeletons out of their body parts."

Following that event, things seemed to stabilize for the group; they were working as effectively as ever, even if Brennan was playing musical grad students. Then, toward the end of the summer, the group once again experienced a change with the break up of Angela and Hodgins. Things were quite stressed for a while, but after a few weeks, they seemed to find a balance and were working effectively again despite a very grumpy Hodgins and an awkward Angela.

As fall approached, Brennan found herself working long hours, even by her standards. She had narrowed down the field of interns to five, but still didn't trust any of them to make decisions without her. Cam subtly encouraged her to let them do more, but she just couldn't do it. None of them were as thorough or as accurate as she was. It wasn't in her nature to allow less than stellar work to leave her lab.

Brennan had put so much on the backburner since Zack left. She had not worked out or gone to karate in over 2 months. While she had lost about five pounds, she was losing her strength and stamina. The ever-observant Angela had noticed and had vowed to get Brennan out of the lab again to go somewhere other than a fresh grave.

One afternoon, Brennan was sitting at her desk attempting to work on her book. She jumped when she heard "Sweetie" from her office door.

"Ange, can't you at least give me some kind of warning before you yell from my office door?" Brennan snipped.

"Hey, it's not my fault that you stare at that computer screen like a 'deer in the headlights'. Maybe, if you weren't so edgy, it wouldn't be so easy to scare you." Angela knew she was being a little harsh, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Deep down, Brennan knew Angela was right. She was sure it was a combination of lack of sleep, stress, and grief for Zack that was getting to her, but she would do everything in her power to deny it. "I'm not edgy, I'm just focused. Did you need something or is this just a social call?" Brennan cut right to the chase.

"A combination" Angela said as she walked into the office and sat on the edge of Brennan's desk. "I was wondering if you would want to go to dinner tonight-girl's night out. We haven't done anything in a while and honestly, you could stand to get out of this office for a while." Angela did her best to appeal to her friend's loving nature and convince her to go.

Brennan smiled and then said, "I can't tonight Ange. I have to finish the paperwork on this Thompson case that Booth and I just wrapped up and then I'm going to try to go back to karate class. I haven't been since. . . since before the Checkerbox." The smile on Brennan's face quickly turned to a more solemn look. She soon realized that this put a damper on Angela's mood.

Trying to quickly put the smile back on Angela's face, Brennan developed a plan and said, "It's Friday night. I was thinking about coming in tomorrow morning to work on some remains from Bone Storage, but I won't stay all day. Would you want to do something tomorrow afternoon?"

Just as Brennan had expected, Angela quickly perked up. "That sounds good. I'll pick you up here at the lab at 1:00. We'll go to lunch and then hit the mall. It's almost fall and I know that some of the stores have their new lines out already."

Brennan dreaded going shopping with Angela. Shopping wasn't something she enjoyed anyway, and Angela was like a machine in the mall. She would go from store to store and hand Brennan piles of clothes to try on. In some ways, Brennan was glad that Angela took care of picking out the clothes for her, but she was always drained by the end of their little excursions.

Even though her mind was dreading the event, Brennan smiled and said, "Sounds great. I'll be ready at 1:00." Angela started to remark that she better not be late, when Brennan's cell rang.

Before Brennan could pick up, Angela grabbed the phone. She noticed that the display said Booth, so she picked up. "Hello studly, I'm assuming this is your 'have you forgotten to eat today? It's 6:00 pm phone call." Ange was now grinning from ear to ear.

"_Very funny Angela, put Bones on the phone!"_ Much to Angela's dismay, it seemed that Booth wasn't in the kidding kind of mood this evening. Before she made him mad, she handed the phone to her best friend.

"What do you want Booth?" Angela was slightly surprised at Brennan's tone. She figured Brennan already knew the questions he would ask and her answers and wasn't really mad at Booth, just slightly frustrated at his alpha male tendencies.

"Yes, I ate lunch and no, I'm not available to meet you at the diner. I'm finishing up the Thompson paperwork now. I'll be finished in the next 15 minutes and I going to leave for karate. After that, I'm planning on going by the grocery store to pick up a few things. I'll grab something for dinner while I'm out. I wouldn't eat before karate anyway." By the end of the short statement, Brennan's tone had changed and she was being nice to Booth. "Have fun with Parker on Sunday and if we don't get a case, I'll just see you on Monday."

There was a pause and then a big smile emerged on Brennan's face. "I know you don't buy organic Booth, but I do. Do you remember what I told you about alligators, or do you need me to tell you about the research study I just read about the correlation between pesticides and …" Her statement stopped, Booth had obviously stopped her from continuing. After that, it was a simple "Have a good weekend, Booth" and she pushed end on her phone.

Brennan then looked up from her desk to see a smirking Angela. "The two of you are something else, Bren. That's all I'm saying. Now, I'll see you at 1:00. You better be ready to leave when I get here. I don't want to have to wait on you when Nordstrom's is calling my name."

Brennan sighed and said, "Good night Angela." Her best friend then turned and silently walked out the office door.

When Angela left, Brennan put the finishing touches on her report for Booth. It had been a relatively straight forward case. The body had been found in a park just outside the district. They had interviewed several and eventually ended up finding trace evidence that linked the victim to her ex-boyfriend's newly painted car. Booth had made the arrest and had even gotten a confession out of the man.

Brennan made a few more clicks and hit the print button. She quickly grabbed the papers of the printer, signed them, and put them in the usual brown folder the Medico Legal lab used. She then tucked the folder in her desk to give to Booth on Monday.

Satisfied that she was at a stopping point, Brennan stood, locked her desk, grabbed her bag and walked briskly to the parking deck. She was somewhat pleased with herself. She was actually leaving by 6:45 and had plenty of time to get to the gym for the 7:00 karate class.

Deep down, she knew she would be rusty, but she had to get back into the sport. It had been her way of life for almost 10 years. She enjoyed sparring and loved the fact that she was able to defend herself. Most of the time, she could take any of the women in her class. She had a feeling that would not be the case tonight, but at least it was the weekend. If she did get knocked off her feet, she would at least have 2 days to recover before everyone else, namely Booth, returned to work on Monday and noticed.

Across town, Booth switched off his phone. He was glad he had been able to stop Bones before she gave him a long diatribe about why organic food was better for you. To be honest, he kind of liked getting her riled up about subjects, but didn't want to hear about pesticides reducing his manhood.

He grinned silently as he thought about Angela's remarks. She was right. He did call Bones to make sure she had eaten every day around 6:00. He did worry about her, she seemed as if she had lost some weight since the events of the spring unfolded, but truthfully, he longed for her company. He knew that he could at least call her about dinner everyday and that would be an excuse to talk to her. He wasn't sure what his feelings were for her, but he did know that he enjoyed being around her. She was his best friend. She had been for quite a while.

Booth put the finishing touches on the report he was working on and stood to leave. As he stood, his cell phone rang. He looked at the display and recognized the number as his boss. "Booth" he answered quickly. "Yes sir. . . No, she's not with me, but I can track her down and get her to come with me. Has the scene been secured and photographed yet? What's the location?" These were all the typical questions he would ask when receiving a call to go to a crime scene. After writing down the location, Booth closed his flip phone and walked out of the office.

He had mixed emotions about the call. On one hand, he was happy that he would get to see Bones before Monday. On the other hand, he hated that he was going to have to go pull her out of karate to go recover a body from a deserted warehouse. One good thing he thought, 'at least it's not a child.'

Booth had tried calling Brennan's cell, but didn't receive an answer, so he figured she was sparring. He had decided to just go get her. Deep down, he liked interrupting her life. She was cute when she was trying to be mad at him.

He walked into her gym and as he expected, she was sparring. A smile developed on his face. He had only gotten to see her fight a few times, but had enjoyed it. 'Hey,' he thought, 'what guy doesn't enjoy a good girl fight?' His grin grew wider at the thought.

As he watched, Brennan knocked her opponent off her feet and then looked over in Booth's direction. She immediately said, "What do you want Booth, I just talked to you an hour ago and I told you I'm not going to the diner."

He flashed her a charm smile and said, "I know, but we have a case." Those four words were music to Brennan's ears. For some strange reason, she had an appetite for cases. She loved finding justice. Booth loved that about her.

As she began to walk to him, he stopped her and said, "Go ahead and finish up, I just talked to Grier, and they are still securing the scene and taking pictures. The locals are just finishing up too, so you have time to spar a little more." Booth silently hoped she wouldn't insist on leaving immediately so he could watch her in action.

"Alright, my instructor wants me to spar with a new student anyway. She just started, and while she's good, she doesn't know all the rules yet. He thinks I will be a good opponent for her since I'm tough and can hold back when needed." She finished her statement and walked back over to the mats.

After a couple of minutes, she stated to spar with the new girl. It was obvious that Brennan was holding back, but the other girl was going at it with everything she had. To Booth, she looked tough. She might have just started karate, but she had done her share of fighting in her life.

Booth looked on, fascinated at what he was seeing. That was "his bones" on the mat fighting. He was grateful to have her as a partner.

As Booth looked on, Brennan planted her left foot and prepared to high kick her opponent. As she prepared, her opponent read her next move and turned towards Brennan's right leg as it approached. She intercepted her kick, pushed her right leg in such a way that it knocked her completely off balance, and caused Brennan to fall to the mat awkwardly.

Booth stood up, he couldn't quite tell if Brennan was alright, but it looked as if all of her weight had shifted to her left ankle and that it had rolled as she fell. Just a few seconds after he stood, he had his answer, she was hurt.

He ran over to her. The instructor was already there, but Brennan didn't acknowledge either of them. She was curled on her left side. She had drawn her left leg up and her right hand was gripping at the mat. Booth knew that she was in pain, but didn't speak. He could tell by the way she was biting her lower lip that she was working to gain her composure. She would speak when she was ready.


	2. Taking Stock

**A/N Thanks for the great reviews and all the alert requests. I'll try my best to stay in character and if you find areas that need attention, please let me know. This chapter is a little shorter, but I hope to put some more up later tonight.**

Disclaimer - I still don't own Bones or any of the characters.

Chapter 2

The normally strong, invincible Temperance Brennan lay on her left side on the blue mat in her karate gym. She was vaguely aware of those around her, but frankly didn't care. Her main concerns were lying as still as possible, trying to keep tears at bay, and willing the searing pain in her left leg to go away. 'I'm a forensic anthropologist for Christ's sake, I can handle falling in a karate match!' she thought to herself. After a few minutes and at least a thousand throbs later, she realized that the pain wasn't going to go away, so she might as well face it and the alpha male warrior she was sure was kneeling beside her.

She let out a deep sigh, her breathing was a little rapid, and opened her eyes. There was a huge lump in her throat, the type of lump you get when you are trying to keep tears from pouring out. She set her jaw, placed her hands on the mat and pushed up, ever so slowly. She winced as she straightened her legs. Only after she took another deep breath, did she begin to speak. "Booth," she began, "Can you run out to my car and get the gym back from my passenger seat? I didn't bring it in, but I think I'm going to need my tennis shoes instead of the heeled boots I wore in tonight."

Booth was floored. He didn't expect those to be the first words she spoke. He was expecting an ouch or something. He thought to himself, 'She's one tough girl.' After he saw the pleading look in her eyes, he responded, "Yeah, sure Bones. Um—is that all you need?" He then rose to do as she requested.

Brennan started to speak, but was interrupted by her karate instructor, Joseph Michaels. "Temperance, there is a student in the next room who is a physical therapist. Do you want me to go get her to have a look at your, um, your leg?" Joseph then cut his eyes from Brennan's and focused on her left ankle. If he had to guess, it was already swollen to twice its normal size – maybe broken, probably sprained, could be both he thought.

She was still working to control her breathing and not give into the pain that was threatening to overcome her. She wanted nothing more than to fall back onto the mats and cry, but she couldn't do it. She was Temperance Brennan for goodness sake. She would not let this get to her.

She exhaled and said, "No, thank you, Joseph, there's an ace bandage and some medical tape in my gym bag. I'm going to grab a quick shower, wrap my ankle, and then Booth and I have to get to a crime scene." She said this so confidently until someone jostled the mat causing her to wince at the ever so slight movement. She silently thought, 'If I had my gun, I would shoot whoever just did that.'

As she finished answering Joseph, Booth walked back into the gym carrying her green gym bag. "Bones!" he yelled, having heard her conversation with the instructor, "There is no way you are going to that crime scene. You just got the daylight knocked out of you and I doubt you could stand, much less squat to look over a body." Several in the gym heard the exchange and turned toward the excitement. Booth ignored them and continued the banter while dropping her bag at the edge of the mats. "I'm taking you to the emergency room right now. That's final."

Despite her pain, Brennan knew she could handle Booth. "I'm not sure what it being night or day has to do with the crime scene or me falling, but I'm going as soon as I take a shower." Brennan knew she was being snappy, but she had to be to make sure Booth understood that she was resolute. Her ankle would not get in the way of justice.

Booth wanted to snap back, but instead, he decided that he couldn't help her by pushing her. 'She's going to need some help, and if I want to be the one to help her, I have to change my tone,' he thought to himself.

With a changed attitude, Booth turned to Brennan and once again spoke. "Let me see." He said. He was doing his best not to jostle her as he approached her and once again knelt beside her on the mat.

Brennan silently complied with his request and pulled her white pant leg up. As she did this, Booth gasped. Her ankle was horribly swollen, and as red as those Santa suits she once forced him to sniff. He took note of the swelling. As best he could tell, it was swelling from just above the toes to mid-calf and it had only happened 10 minutes ago. 'This is not good he thought-poor Bones.'

As Booth looked her ankle over, Brennan made a mental note of her injury. 'Wide spread swelling,' she thought 'I'll check it thoroughly when I get in the shower and don't have an alpha male audience. Did I hear a pop?' she asked herself. Honestly, she didn't know. All she remembered was planting her foot, raising her right leg, and then pain.

The sound of Booth's voice called her back to the living. "Whoo hoo, Bones, you didn't hit your head too, did you?" he called.

Brennan snapped out of her little trance and commented, "Very funny, Booth, besides, it's a mat, it wouldn't cause a head injury even if I did hit it."

Booth was satisfied that he had gotten her attention and continued with his assessment. "Is it broken?" He asked her with a very compassionate look on his face.

"I don't know, it's swelling too fast for me to really get a feel for the injury." she responded. She followed with a quick, 'I'll be fine' remark and willed herself to get moving.

Booth hated that her response wasn't confident. He knew that if it was only a minor injury she would be spouting off the names of ligaments by now. The fact that she couldn't pinpoint the injury was a bad sign. He quickly focused on her eyes as she once again spoke.

"Help me stand up, and I'll go get in the shower so we can get to the crime scene. I wouldn't want you to make 'the man' angry with your tardiness." She smiled internally at her comment. She was fairly sure that she had used the phrase correctly.

Booth was still kneeling beside her. He placed his arm under her arm and began to stand. He was careful to take up most of her weight without making her seem helpless. Once she was steady, he took a tentative step toward the edge of the mats. She winced loudly. So loudly, that he thought for a second that she might begin to cry.

He began to speak in a quite tone. "Bones, let me carry you off the mat. It's way too squishy, and your ankle is too unstable to walk on this without being wrapped up." He was trying to appeal to her logical nature. "Once we get to the side, I'll let you walk." He finished.

She didn't like the idea, but knew it was for the best, so she complied. "Fine, but don't get used to the alpha male display. I can take care of myself."

"I know Bones, I know." With that sentiment, Booth carried Brennan off the mat and sat her on the level carpet at the side. He quickly grabbed her bag without letting go of her and once she seemed ready, they began the long 15 foot walk to the locker room.

Brennan's thoughts were only on the pain that was taking over her body. With every step, she wanted to scream. She really couldn't put any weight on her foot without feeling like she was walking on a bed of nails. She thought to herself, 'I won't cry or scream, just stay focused. The locker room should be empty and I can loose it once I get in there.'

Finally, they reached the locker room door and Booth pushed it open. Brennan held onto the door frame and stepped inside while leaning on the wall for support.

Booth studied her movements and felt sick at the thought of the pain she was experiencing. She was hurting, and he couldn't fix it. 'A guy hug might help, but it's going to take more than that to fix this. Matters of the heart, I can handle, but this is her specialty, bones.' At that thought, Booth pushed the locker room door open and yelled inside.

"Bones, when you're ready, just yell, and I'll come help you if you need it." He waited for a response, but came up empty. He let out a sigh, grabbed a chair and set up camp by the locker room door.


	3. Diagnosis

**A/N -- This is long and probably drawn out, I just couldn't get from point A to point B quickly. Hopefully it's ok.**

**Disclaimer - Bones belongs to Hart Hanson, et. al. Not me.  
**

Chapter 3

Once inside the small locker room, Brennan could finally breathe a sigh of relief, a few tears could fall without being noticed. Every step was killing her, but she could do this, she could get her bearings, assess the damage, and move on. She heard Booth yell from the door and knew he would help if she needed it, but this was her body, her charge.

She gingerly made her way over to the shower that she knew had a seat in it. It took her a few minutes to cross the locker room. It should have only taken about 10 steps to make her way into the shower, but she could only stand to place her left foot on the floor briefly without feeling like she was falling to the ground or doubling over in pain. As she walked, she noticed that her entire leg not only hurt, but her ankle felt like it would give way at any second. She had a sensation that it was sliding front to back and side to side. She made a mental note of the observation. She was pretty sure that there was at least some ligament damage. How much was the question. She hadn't ruled out a break, but she knew one thing, it hurt like hell.

She climbed into the shower and turned on the water as warm as it would go. She knew the heat would increase the swelling, but she needed to relax and that would help. As she let the water beat her down on the back, she prepared herself for the mission of analyzing the body at the crime scene. She usually squatted at the torso of the body, but that was definitely not going to work today. After a little thought, she figured that her best bet was to sit parallel to the body with both legs extended in front of her. She was certain that she could get down by placing all of her weight on her right foot. Getting up would be different. If there wasn't something she could pull on, she would just have to ask Booth for help.

She finished in the shower and stood, not allowing her left foot to touch the ground. She toweled off and redressed. While painful and tricky, she was successful. She quickly pulled her hair into a bun and set off on what would be the worst part of the night, taping her ankle.

She sat on the long wooden bench and extended her left leg in front of her, it covered most of the length of the bench. She then took out the ace bandage and medical tape and set to work. She knew that flexing her foot would provide her the most support if she could tape it in that position. She tried to flex using her leg muscles, but couldn't seem to get the job done. She then slid close to the wall and pushed her foot flat on the wall. It was excruciating and a few stray tears fell as she did it, but if she wanted to get to the crime scene, she had to do it. She ripped a couple of pieces of tape and quickly used it to put a little support between both the medial and lateral sides of her ankle so she could put on the ace bandage.

She then wrapped the ace bandage around her ankle. She was trained to do this when she was training for excavations and had actually used the technique to wrap her ankle before. She could think of two times she had sprained her ankle. Both times were grade II lateral sprains. She had healed quickly, but kept tape and ace bandages around just in case. It had been 5 years since she last sprained her ankle, but she remembered what it felt like. This time was different.

She made a conscious effort to wrap too tight as she worked her way up her leg. She knew it wasn't good for swelling and stiffness, but she needed to be able to stand. She finished with the ace bandage and then coated the bandage in tape for added support. Her mission was complete. She couldn't really move her ankle, but she would at least be able to stand without falling. The pain she could handle, but the falling would be out of her control.

She then carefully slid her tennis shoe on top of her foot. She had to loosen the laces drastically before it would go on. She stood and was satisfied that should could move fairly well. She would limp, but she could walk.

Taking a deep breath, she yelled "Hey, Booth!"

He was inside the door faster than she could say his name. He was almost out of breath when he said, "Are you okay?"

She gave him a small smile and said, "Yes, can you get my bag, I'm ready to go."

Booth did as requested and then quickly hopped in front of her to get the door. He pondered what she had done while she was in there. She was much more stable, but had a marked limp. He assumed she must have taped it up so tight that she could stand without falling. He worried about her doing this, but knew that he didn't need to push it if he wanted her to let him take her to the ER after the crime scene.

They slowly made their way out the door and Booth started their typical banter, "I'm driving there's no way I'm showing up at the crime scene in that hybrid of yours." He completely expected her to respond by lecturing him about the strain on the environment from petroleum products, but he got no response. She just concentrated on walking. His heart sank for her.

30 minutes later, Brennan and Booth arrived at the crime scene. "You okay to do this Bones?" He asked.

"I'm fine Booth, it hurts, but I'll make it." She carefully stepped out of the car and FBI Forensic Tech Marcus Grier came running up.

He began, "The body was found in a storage closet over here. The warehouse itself is really dry, so the remains are pretty dry. We figured you could tell us more than Dr. Saroyan since most of the flesh is dehydrated." Brennan just smiled at him and focused on getting to the remains.

Booth followed behind her. He received a passing glance from Grier. It was if he was asking what happened. Booth quietly mouthed "Karate" and kept on walking.

When Grier and Booth reached the storage closet, Brennan was already examining the remains. She began her analysis. "Male, ages 25-29. Looks like Caucasian descent, but I can't rule out mixed race at this point. Looks like the ribs are broken in a couple of places. It could be from compression. No trauma to the skull is apparent. Clothing looks to be of good quality materials. Hodgins may be able to pull particulates. Grier, were there any blood stains found in the warehouse?" She ended with that question.

Grier began, "No, not that we've found Dr. Brennan. We did find a few traces of organic materials around the door, but not much else. Based on preliminary evidence, looks like the body was killed elsewhere and dumped." Grier waited for more questions and then continued. "We've got a team dusting for prints now."

Booth was just outside the door talking on his cell phone. He closed it just as Grier finished up. "I just talked to Charlie; he's going to pull info on the owners of this warehouse as well as any occupants they have leased to. Bones, could you get anything on time of death?" He asked his question while checking to make sure she was okay.

"Based on clothing and tissue condition, I would say a little over six months, but the dry environment may have impacted the decomposition process. Hodgins will have to do insect analysis to know for sure." She paused for a moment, Booth couldn't tell if she was thinking or hurting.

She snapped back to reality and finished, "Have them send the body and all the contents of the room to the lab. I'll go there to meet them." Booth popped his head up at her last statement.

He waited before responding. He had to make sure he approached the topic gently. "Bones, I already called Cam. She's going to meet the techs there and have the 'intern of the week' start cataloging injuries and cleaning the bones. You don't have to go back to the lab." He strategically avoided mentioning the injury. She knew what he was thinking. He didn't have to say it.

She gave Booth one of her looks and said, "Back to the lab, Booth." She didn't even acknowledge his comment. She turned to the remains one last time. Grier backed out of the room and went back to work. Booth stood guard in case she needed him.

Without making eye contact with Booth, Brennan turned to get up. As she did, she must have inverted her ankle slightly. This motion sent the pain that she had kept at bay up her leg she closed her eyes against the pain. Booth noticed and without asking reached down and helped her stand. He let her move on her own, keeping his hand at her back, but applying a little more pressure than normal.

Slowly, they ambled back to his SUV. He loaded her kit back in while she climbed in and buckled her seat belt. By the time he was ready to go, she had her eyes closed and head leaned against the window. She was exhausted. It was now 11:30 and she felt horrible, she was starting to feel a little nauseous from the pain that had accumulated over the last four hours. Despite being resolute, she decided it was time to give in and get it checked out.

In a very soft voice, her eyes still closed, she spoke. "Booth, I need to go by my apartment and get a couple of things, but would you mind taking me to get my ankle checked out?" She hated admitting that she was hurt. Obviously, he knew she was hurt, but verbally stating it changed everything.

Booth's throat caught as he spoke. "Sure Bones." He thought for a second and then offered a little more help. "Do you want me to run up to you apartment and get what you need?"

"Thanks Booth." She opened her eyes and turned to him. "I need the brown leather portfolio sitting on the table by my bed; it has my spare insurance cards in it. My purse is still in my car at the gym. I also need the pair of surgical scissors out of the drawer by the sink. I need to cut this tape off my ankle so that the doctor can look at it." She put her head back against the window and tried to rest in spite of the throbbing pain she felt.

Booth pulled up at her place and jumped out. He didn't speak, he wasn't sure if she was asleep or not, but didn't want to disturb her. He quickly ran in, got the requested items and jumped back in the car.

Before he started the car, she spoke again. "Booth, could you help me cut this tape off? I don't really feel like doing it myself. I'm just drained."

He didn't answer her, but turned to face her and clicked on the interior light. She slowly, carefully lifted her leg up onto the seat. She winced as he slid the shoe off, and he closed his eyes for a second as he saw the blue discoloration above and below the tape. The swelling was also apparent around the constricting bandages.

"I'm sorry Bones," was all he said as he began to cut the tape. He knew he was hurting her, but she didn't let on. He finished, and she went to put her leg back down. "You can leave it" he said. She didn't argue, just sat back with her eyes closed.

He pulled up in front of the hospital and went around to her side to help her out. He thought about getting a wheel chair, but figured he liked his arms. He opened the door and had to wake her. "Bones, hey, let's go in." He offered her his hand and she carefully stepped down. He slipped his arm around her waist.

They slowly walked inside and before he sat her down to go get the papers he was stopped by a nurse. "You guys can go ahead and come back. We're slow tonight. I'll get you some ice and you can do the paperwork in your room."

Brennan spoke for the first time in a while. "Thank you, that sounds better than sitting in the waiting room." It was only a few more steps to the first open room. Brennan was thankful for a room and not just a curtained off area.

Booth helped her up onto the bed. She sat back and exhaled. She, in some ways, had admitted defeat. She had let Booth bring her to the ER. In other ways, she felt strong. She had asked for help when she needed it.

Booth looked on as Brennan was lost in thought. She looked so small on the hospital bed. He admired her for asking for help, but knew that she didn't share his feelings of admiration about her actions. He was fairly certain that she felt like she was defeated because she had asked to get it checked out. He had learned that about her, normal things like grief or illness were hard for her to share with others. She had been alone for so long, she had learned to view these things as weaknesses. She had come a long way with matters of the heart and he was proud of her, but she was still a little inexperienced in asking for help.

As the pair contemplated their thoughts, the nurse from the waiting room walked back in carrying three pillows, a couple of bags of crushed ice, and a clipboard. Brennan smiled as she entered, but the smile quickly changed as she noticed the young nurse ogling Booth. Why she felt jealousy when that happened she didn't know. He wasn't hers, not really anyway.

"My name's Pam, I'm just the admissions nurse, but I figured these might help." She walked to the side of the bed and gently lifted Brennan's foot, placing the pillows underneath. She then lifted it one more time and put a bag of ice on the pillow. Placing a towel on top of it, she eased Brennan's foot back down. She finished up by putting another towel on Brennan's foot followed by a larger bag of crushed ice.

She finished and began to walk out of the room. She turned and said, "Finish the paperwork and he can bring it back out to me. Your nurse, Cyndi, will come by in a few minutes to get you started." She then left the room pulling the door behind her.

Brennan worked on the paperwork, glad to have something to do instead of feeling sorry for herself. Booth was standing at the window fiddling with that poker chip. She finished up with the last page of forms and then spoke to Booth. "Can you take this back out to the nurse at the desk? I'd do it, but. . ." She shot Booth a little grin. She knew he was worried about her; he was always overprotective like that.

Booth shook his head at her and quipped, "If I knew it would take knocking you down to get you to let me be 'alpha male' I'd have done it myself back during the Cleo Eller case." He grabbed the clipboard and walked out of the room.

A few minutes later, another nurse came in the room. She checked Brennan's vitals and noted that she had a low grade temp. "That's common with pain." She said, directing her comment toward Booth more than Brennan.

She asked Brennan the typical hospital questions, what happened, rate your pain, and other silly questions. Brennan was probably short with the nurse, but it was now 12:30 and she was in a bad mood. It didn't help that she knew she would be answering the same question to anyone who walked through the door.

The nurse finished up her history and spoke again. "I'd give you something for pain, but the doctors usually want to do their first exam before you are medicated. After Dr. Spence comes in, I'll bring you something, he'll probably want x-rays and so you'll be here for a little while after his exam."

Brennan offered up a quick "Thanks," as the nurse left. Booth was still messing with his poker chip.

Almost immediately, there was a knock at the door. A young, blue eyed doctor walked in. His first comment was "Are you, um, Temperance Brennan the writer?"

Brennan rolled her eyes, "I am, although, I'm not sure of the relevance right now." Booth laughed in the corner of the room.

"There is not any relevance, but I had to satisfy my curiosity. I'm sure you can appreciate that." He grinned.

Brennan softened slightly, "I can. It's just been a long evening."

The doctor shifted to 'doctor mode', "I can see that." He threw a glance toward her elevated foot. "I'm going to check a couple of things. Does your. . ." He was about to ask if Booth wanted to leave the room when he was interrupted by two unison voices.

"Partner," They both said and Brennan continued, "He's my work partner, Seeley Booth."

The doctor snickered and continued, "Do you want to step out for a few minutes?"

Booth stuttered a little and said, "Yeah, sure. You want anything Bones?" He walked toward the door.

"No, I'm alright. You might call and make sure the remains got to the lab." He smiled, same old Bones, always focused on the case.

The doctor started his exam. He began by checking out the bruising on Brennan's leg. It was concentrated on the lateral side of her left foot radiating outward toward the toes, almost no bruising on her medial ankle. Above the foot, her lower leg was also bruised, fairly dark blue as well. The doctor made a few notes and then spoke.

"It looks like there is some pretty widespread damage to that ankle. I'm going to do a few manipulations. You'll be alright?" He asked Brennan.

Inside she thought, 'Sure go ahead and pull on it all you want. I'm sure it won't hurt a bit.' She chose not be so sarcastic and said, "I'll be fine, let's just get it over and finished."

On that note, he lifted her ankle and started testing. The next few minutes were terrible for Brennan. She turned her head to the side and willed herself not to scream. He first placed his hands under the heel and ball of her foot and pushed upward. Then he rolled her foot inward and outward. Next, he grabbed her heal and lower leg and seemed to push he foot forward. Brennan assumed that he had picked up on the sliding sensation she felt while walking. Last, he placed one hand on her lower leg and the other on her calf. He squeezed. This squeeze sent a searing pain through Brennan and a few tears began to fall.

He put her foot back on the pillow and replaced the ice. He then spoke, "Okay, I'm done for a few minutes. I would normally ask you to stand to test how much weight you could bare, but I already know the answer to that. There's some extensive damage to several ligaments in your ankle. I can tell you for sure that it's a grade III sprain, but possibly a high-ankle sprain as well."

Brennan let out a deep breath. "Which ligaments?" she asked bluntly.

"I can't be certain yet, as to the number of ligaments involved. I do know for sure that the anterior talofibular and calcaneofibular ligaments are completely torn. I can't quite tell about the posterior talofibular yet. It might just be stretched. As for the high ankle sprain, you know that that includes the ligaments that hold the tibia and fibula together, right?"

Brennan sighed and responded simply, "Yes, I knew that."

"I figured you would know, but at any rate, one or both of the tibiofibular ligaments may be torn as well." The doctor finished the news as Booth walked back in the door.

The doctor continued. "I'm going to send the nurse in to give you some anti-inflammatory medication and pain relievers; I'll write you a script for both. Then I'm going to send you up to X-ray for a full set of x-rays. The stress images can be painful so, I'll do that last to give the meds some time to kick in."

Brennan couldn't speak. She knew the severity of the injury. All she could do was nod.

"I'm not going to keep you here to wait on an orthopedic. It's 1:15 am. I am going to refer you to a specialist named Dr. Peter Jameson. He'll want to see you on Monday. I'll get the X-rays sent over. He'll want to do some more testing, but may have to wait for the swelling to recede. Until you see him, you do not need to put any weight on your left foot. I'm sending you with crutches, but they are for limited use only. Honestly, you don't need to let that ankle be lower than your heart for over 10 minutes until you see Jameson. You should keep ice on it for at least 20 minutes every 2 - 3 hours as well. Your injury is extensive and you don't want to aggravate it further by being careless. Jameson will give you more instructions when you see him"

The doctor finished up, "I know I've rambled, but do you have questions?"

Brennan shook her head and responded, "I don't think so, thank you for your help."

He nodded and sent Cyndi in with the medications and appointment cards. Soon after, Brennan was asleep due to the meds and on her way to X-ray.

Booth sat in the chair by the window in the ER room waiting on her. He wasn't quite sure what to make of all of the medical jargon, but it sounded pretty bad. He had sprained ankles before, but never had a grade III, much less one involving four or five ligaments. The news must be crushing Brennan. He'd do his best to help her through it. She was tough and once the initial shock was over, she'd be fine. She was Bones.


	4. Angela's Gears

**A/N - Pesky day job made me later than I wanted to be. I hope you are still enjoying the story. I know I am enjoying writing. This should put me over 10,000 words. As an FYI, I do take requests / suggestions. Let me know what you think.**

Disclaimer - For entertainment purposes only. I don't own Bones.

Chapter 4

Booth was still sitting in that ER room an hour and a half after Brennan left. He figured she was probably looking at the images herself, and asking them to take different types of films. Then again, she was pretty out of it when they took her, so she might be behaving. He was lost in his thoughts, a young orderly wheeled a groggy Bones back in.

He began by asking, "How you doing, Bones?" but was interrupted by Cyndi the nurse.

She went through a couple of more explanations for Brennan before she was ready to go. "Here's your scripts, they are the same things we gave you tonight, so they will help with the pain and inflammation. Here is also an ankle brace for you. You shouldn't use it unless you absolutely have to move about for long periods of time." At this last statement, both Brennan and Booth looked a little confused, so she elaborated.

"I know that normally, compression helps with swelling, but Dr. Spence is nervous that the swelling is already too extensive and with the degree of your damage, not aligning it properly is highly likely. If you bind it in the wrong position with a brace, it might do more harm than good." Cyndi finished, saying, "You might want to put it on now for the ride home though."

Brennan nodded in understanding and then said, "Are we ready to go now?"

The young nurse smiled and said, "Yes, just let me get you your crutches and you can leave."

Booth stood up and waited at the door; he took the crutches, thanked the nurse and looked on as Brennan finished with the brace. She had that look of pain on her face. He absolutely hated this.

A still groggy Brennan took the crutches from him and walked to the car in silence. Booth didn't speak either. He figured she was either processing the events of the day or was just tired. He was probably doing the same things. He could fall to the bed and sleep for hours now. It was approaching 4:00 am.

As any good alpha male would do, Booth pulled up to a 24 hour pharmacy near Brennan's apartment, made note that she had fallen asleep, and he ran inside. He picked up a couple of things he thought she might need as he waited for her scripts to be filled. He paid and went to exit. He couldn't help but notice what the prescriptions were for and was slightly surprised, Lortab (7.5/500) and Tolectin (600). He wasn't sure what those numbers meant, but that sounded strong. He sighed when he realized where he had learned about Lortab. It was given to him while he was "dead" for pain. He hated that the doctors acknowledged that his Bones was in enough pain to need that kind of medicine.

After the short drive from the pharmacy, they finally pulled up at Brennan's. Booth wakes the sleeping forensic anthropologist, and opens her door. She takes her crutches, and makes her way to the elevator of her apartment building. She routinely took the stairs, but that was not an option this evening, morning, whatever it was. As the elevator door opened at her floor, she was still kind of dazed from the drugs. She spoke anyway. "Booth, I'm going to sleep on my couch tonight. It's really late and you're welcome to sleep in the guest room or my room."

"Bones, you don't have to sleep on the couch, I can go home or sleep on it." He was a little confused at the offer. He was sure there was a reason for her sleeping on the couch, but didn't have a clue what it would be.

Brennan smiled and said, "I know, but it will be easier to keep from tossing and turning if I'm on the couch. Besides, at this point, I could sleep anywhere."

Booth nodded simple and said, "Okay Bones. I'll grab a cab in the morning and pick up your car from the gym. I can pick you up a few groceries too." He expected a protest, but nothing was said.

They entered her apartment and Booth dropped their things on the counter. He then walked toward the hall closet. Seeing that he was obviously getting some pillows and blankets for her, she plopped down and put her crutches on the floor. She was thankful she had put on comfortable clothes at the gym, she didn't want to mess with changing. Brushing her teeth could wait as well.

In a couple of minutes, Booth came back over with a few pillows and a quilt for her. He handed them to her and helped her elevate her ankle after she took off the brace. He threw the quilt over her and asked, "Do you want to put some ice on it now?"

"I'd rather not wake up soaking wet from the bag. I'll just do it in the morning." She closed her eyes even before she finished her statement and started to drift off. She heard him rustling in the kitchen, but didn't care. She figured he was just getting a drink anyway. A few seconds later, he lifted the quilt and she felt a cloth ice pack on her foot.

She mumbled, "Thanks Booth." and began falling asleep with a small grin on her face. As she drifted she thought to herself, 'I didn't have a cloth ice pack, he must have bought it at the store. He always knows the right thing to do.'

Booth had crashed in the spare bedroom. He woke up slowly and pushed his button on the phone to see the time. It was now 10:30 am. He couldn't sleep anymore. His days as a sniper had trained him to require little sleep.

He quickly popped his head into the living room and saw that Brennan was still out. Thankfully, it was still pretty dark in there. The sun was blazing on the other side of the building at this time of day.

He looked at her a little more closely and her brow was furrowed. She didn't look peaceful. He decided he should wake her and get her to take her meds. He would then be able to get his day started. He needed to take care of things for her and get a shower at home. Maybe, if he was lucky, he could get back in time to watch the game on her new plasma. She had gotten it over the summer after her dad was released.

He walked over to her and knelt by the couch. He admired her raw cuteness but didn't stare too long. He didn't want her to go anthropological on him when she woke to his hovering eyes.

He gently patted her on the shoulder and said, "Bones, Bones, you going to sleep all day?" She slowly turned her head in his direction and opened her blue eyes.

"Hey," she said, "What time is it?"

He grinned, that was Bones, always thinking about something, even when she first wakes up. "About 11:00," he responded. "I figured you needed some medicine, and I just called a cab to run get your car. I'll just drive it to do a couple of things."

He handed her 2 big pills and a bottled water. She carefully sat up, took the pills, and reached for her crutches. "Thanks Booth." she commented as she moved. "I'm going to get a bath and get cleaned up. I'll probably just get back on the couch again after that. I'm still pretty tired." She thought for a second, "Take my keys so you can get back in."

He got up and walked toward the kitchen as she rose. "Sure Bones. Do you need anything else?"

She sighed and answered, "Not that I know of. I'm not really hungry. I think the combination of pain and medicine is making me a little nauseous. It should pass as the day goes on, so don't worry about it." She knew he would worry, but she could reassure him. She then set off for the bathroom.

Taking care of everything she needed to do was tricky, but she managed. She would eventually figure out how to deal with this ankle, but knew it would be rough at first. She finished and put on some yoga pants and a tank top. She headed back to the couch. The meds seemed to be kicking back in and she was, again, feeling a little dazed. She grabbed the ice pack Booth sat out, turned on the Discovery Channel, and situated herself back on the couch. It was barely 12:00, but she was content to just rest.

Meanwhile, Angela Montenegro walked into the Jeffersonian lab an hour before she was supposed to pick up Brennan for their little excursion. She figured if she sat on the platform and stared at Brennan for long enough, she would get adequately annoyed and leave on time.

She checked the platform, bone room, and her office. She was surprised when she didn't find a blazer draped over the back of Brennan's chair. That was the typical sign she was there.

She walked out of the office and found Cam busied in the autopsy room. She made sure not to startle Cam and spoke, "Cam, have you seen Brennan, we're supposed to leave at 1:00 to go shopping?"

Cam looked up from her work and answered succinctly. "I heard from her last night, but haven't seen her today." She paused before going farther, "She and Booth were called to a crime scene last night. He called me to meet the techs here with the remains. I'm not sure what they did. They didn't call or anything after that." She was being honest with Angela. Cam figured Brennan would beat her in that morning and was a little surprised to hear nothing from the pair.

The gears in Angela's head started turning. 'Brennan and Booth at a crime scene and they don't come back to the lab. He must have taken her to a bar and talked her into drinking that scotch with him again. This should be good.'

Angela snapped out of her trance and began to leave. "Thanks Cam, I'll just try her at her apartment." Angela paused, and stopped at the door. "You don't need my help with anything, do you?"

Cam grinned at her offer and said, "No, go, I'm leaving to go play pool in a few anyway. We'll start all of this Monday."

"Have a good day Cam," Angela remarked as she walked out of the room.

She then took out her cell and tried calling Brennan. No answer, very interesting. Her gears kicked it up another notch. 'This is definitely going to be worth the trip to her apartment.'

She got in her car and drove to Brennan's. At the sight of Booth's car in Brennan's spot, her grin grew wider. Her thoughts devised a plan, 'I'm so not knocking. This is a use your emergency key and see what you find kind of event.'

She let herself in to Brennan's apartment and quickly saw the sleeping Brennan covered in a quilt on the couch. Still no sign of Booth. She walked to the couch and thought, 'She must have had the hard scotch. She usually wakes at the slightest sound.'

She opted to wake her suddenly and plopped onto the couch at Brennan's feet and said, "So Booths car is. . ."

Immediately her smile switched to an 'oh crap' look as Brennan bolted up with a scream. A couple of tears sliding down her check even with her eyes closed.

"Oh God, Bren, I'm sorry, what did I do?" She was now standing beside the couch. She had jumped up as soon as her friend screamed.

Brennan couldn't speak. She was still working on learning to breathe again after Angela's sudden impact. Angela wasn't patient enough to wait and just pulled back the quilt to investigate what happened herself.

She gasped at the purple ankle that was swollen beyond description that she found under the quilt. "Oh my God, Bren, what happened? Did you and Booth get into trouble at the crime scene, have you seen a doctor? Bren, talk to me?" She continued asking questions until her friend interrupted her.

"I'm trying to talk, Ange, just give me a second. I'll be okay." As Brennan said this, she laid her head back a little and worked to gain her composure. After a couple of minutes, she sat completely up. Angela shot her a compassionate smile before speaking, "Okay now, Bren? Ready to spill?"

Brennan recounted the events of the previous night and early morning and explained that she would be seeing a specialist on Monday. She would get a more definite diagnosis then.

Angela took in the information for a second and spoke. "So, how bad is it?"

"I'm not exactly sure, Ange. It sounds, and feels, bad enough, but if the ligaments that connect the tibia and fibula are torn, it might be a lot harder to recover." Angela nodded in a best friendly manner and went on to her original mission.

"So, Agent Studly stayed over last night? Anything exciting happen?" Angela gave her friend the look of determination she gave when she was trying to hook people up.

Brennan rolled her eyes at her best friend and grinned, "Oh come on Ange, you know we are just partners." She changed the subject. "So, I'm not going to be able to go to the mall today. You can go ahead and go without me."

Angela rolled her eyes in response, "Seriously Bren, if you haven't figured out by now that I 'want' to be friends with you, you need to call Sweets. He should give you a new IQ test." Brennan just laughed and let Angela continue.

"Why don't I go pick up a few movies and food. I'll bring them back and we can just veg out?" Angela smirked because her friend probably didn't know the term 'veg,' but was acting like she did. Deep inside, Angela was a little disappointed about the canceled trip to the mall, but she wanted to spend time with her friend. Honestly, she was a little lonely since her breakup and missed her best friend.

"Ange, that sounds good. Booth should be back in a little bit. Hopefully, if you are here, he'll leave for a little while. He may insist on staying, so be prepared for a trio." Brennan smiled and went on, "I think he feels bad about what happened to me. He's been a little fidgety since it happened."

At that thought, Angela told her friend she would be back in an hour or so. Brennan resettled herself on the couch and started watching a special on TV.


	5. Missions and Movies

**A/N - Hope you enjoy, please let me know what you think about characters, pacing, etc. I will begin to speed the story up soon, but wanted to dwell on the feelings of the characters first.**

Disclaimer - Fox Broadcasting et al owns Bones. For entertainment only.

Chapter 5

As Booth finished running his errands, he had to work to contain the frustration that the simple trip caused him. Earlier, he had taken a cab to Brennan's gym so he could pick up her small SUV. As he was about to leave, her karate instructor, he didn't know his name, pulled up. Like all normal people, he began asking questions about Brennan and her injury. Booth answered as quickly as possible and the instructor turned to go inside. He shot Booth a final glance and said, "I figured she wouldn't go get it checked. She's as tough as nails. Tell her I said to feel better soon. Hopefully she can get back in here before too long."

Booth was glad the conversation was over and said, "Thanks man, she'll appreciate that." With that simple statement, Booth climbed into the small SUV. His knees hit the steering wheel and he became angry. His thoughts went back to the tiny car he had accidentally rented in England. 'Bones thinks that pesticides reduce my manhood, she should see me in this car. Someone needs to do an anthropological study on these.'

He sighed, adjusted his seat and pulled out of the parking lot. He drove to his house to shower and pack a bag. He wasn't sure how long she would let him stay, but he knew she didn't need to be alone. He remembered how she was when she found her mother's remains. She ran back to the lab after he brought Chinese food at least one night. She was busted by the squints, but it didn't change the fact that she always worked through pain.

Booth got home, quickly showered, shaved and packed. He grabbed his duffle back and continued his mission. He had decided to run by the Hoover and pick up the file for last night's case. Bones would be dying to get to the lab, looking at the file might keep her resting for a little longer.

He parked a little farther from the building than normal. He didn't want to give his buddies any ammunition to razz him. All he needed was one of them photoshopping a picture of him in a 'squint mobile.'

He ran up to his office, got the file for the case and downloaded some x-rays and squintish stuff for Brennan. He thought, 'The intern of the week must be busy.' He was leaving as he bumped into Charlie.

"Hey Booth!" Charlie was determined to get his attention. "I figured you'd be out and about by now interviewing people about last night's body." Charlie knew how Booth worked and was surprised to see him casually dressed when there was a new case.

Booth responded, a little irritated, "Yeah, well, I had to take Bones to the emergency room last night. We didn't finish until around 4:00. I figured we will hit it hard on Monday." Booth didn't want to elaborate any further. He knew those guys didn't have the same respect for Brennan that he did and would just make it a water cooler issue. Booth turned to leave saying, "Thanks Charlie, I'll be in on Monday."

Charlie responded with a quick "Have a good one man."

Booth set off on the next leg of his errands – getting groceries for Bones. It had to be the worst part. If it wasn't bad enough that he was driving a 'squint mobile,' he would now be in a 'squint market.' Oh, the things he would do for 'his Bones.'

He pulled up at the store and briskly walked in. He stopped for a second, he didn't have a clue where to find stuff, but he would never ask for help in a million years. He quickly worked his way up and down the aisles grabbing a few items he knew Bones used. Satisfied that he had enough stuff to get her through the weekend, he quickly checked out and paid, thankful to be finished without much incident.

He loaded in the groceries and headed back to her apartment. He parked, grabbed the refrigerated items and let himself back in.

She was sitting up on the couch, eyes closed but not sleeping. He couldn't get a good read on her look, so he risked speaking. "You okay there Bones?" He walked toward the couch and sat beside her.

She opened her eyes and quietly responded. "Yes, Angela just left." She elaborated a little farther. "We were supposed to go to the mall today and I forgot to tell her. She was in matchmaking mode and slipped in here without waking me up."

Booth knew that she wasn't telling him something, but didn't push her. He'd figure it out eventually. He always did – he was FBI.

Brennan started to move and grimaced a little. She went on to tell him that Angela would be coming back with movies in a few minutes. "Booth, you don't have to stick around. She'll probably bring romance movies anyway."

Booth was a little hurt, but figured Angela would take care of her. "Tell you what Bones, the Phillies play tonight at 9:00 our time. I'll go get some things done, and I claim your plasma for the game.

She smiled and said "Thanks Booth." She then changed to scientist mode. "You didn't hear anything on the new case did you?"

"Bones can't you chill out for 12 hours?" He was trying not to grin. If he did, she would suspect he was trying to get her worked up.

"Booth, I enjoy my job. It's not right for me to sit here without a purpose when there is a case I could work on. I was just thinking that you would have wanted to get started too." She was fussing, but was confused as to why he was grinning.

"Bones for a person who never makes 'intuitive leaps,' you just jumped into a big assumption." As he said this, he reached into a bag and pulled out the case folder.

She gave him a 'you just got me excited for nothing look,' and snatched the file from his hand. She turned away from him and started going over the case.

Satisfied that she was content, he went to unload the remaining groceries. As he was closing the trunk of her SUV, Angela pulled up.

"Booth!" she called.

He could tell she was going to prod about Brennan because she had called him Booth and not some ridiculous nickname. He acknowledged her with a simple "Hey."

"Is she going to be alright? She told me about what happened, but I figured she would try to minimize everything." She asked this with a look of genuine concern on her face.

Booth sighed and said, "I think so, but it's pretty nasty. The doctor didn't tell her much last night, but she'll find out more Monday. The doctor did tell her that she shouldn't put any weight on her foot or be up for more than 10 minutes at a time until the orthopedic surgeon checks it." He finished his statement and turned toward the apartment.

Angela nodded and said, "I guess it didn't help that I sat on her ankle when I came in trying to surprise her. I think she would have shot me before she opened her eyes if she could find a gun." Angela faked a smile and followed Booth into the building.

Booth nodded at her but didn't comment. He knew Bones didn't tell all of what happened when Angela came earlier.

As they walked up the stairs, Booth told Angela that he would be leaving but would be back to watch the Phillies game. "I've got Parker tomorrow, so I'll probably not hang around then. I don't think she would want a bouncing 6 year old asking her questions." Angela nodded and he went on. "Plus, she's been a little testy, not that I can blame her, that's one messed up looking foot."

Angela smiled and said, "She loves him you know, but I can hang out tomorrow."

Booth smiled appreciatively, went in, and began to unpack the remaining groceries.

He finished up, and got ready to leave. "Bones, don't let that foot touch the floor at all. You need to take these meds around 5:00 and remember to ice it every two hours." Brennan raised her eyebrows and Angela started grinning, again.

Brennan spoke, "Booth, I know what to do, last time I checked, I know a couple of things about bones, and you once told me that I can deal with bones better than people. I shouldn't have a problem. Do you need me to name all the ankle bones before you leave?"

He smiled. He had aggravated her on purpose, his goal was complete. "Bye Bones, Bye Angela." He turned and left on that note.

"Bye studly," called Angela.

Brennan ignored the exchange. She was looking at some x-rays of the remains from the previous night. She noticed a few interesting fractures of the thoracic vertebrae. She would need to look at them under magnification, but it looked as if they aligned with the rib cage fractures he found at the crime scene.

When Angela was satisfied that Booth was out of earshot, she went to work. "That is so hot! He's trying to take care of you. I still think that ride is yours if you want it.

Brennan plopped the file down and cut her eyes to her best friend. "We're partners, good friends. No benefits involved."

Angela decided to drop it. Obviously her friend was full of piss and vinegar today. "O—Kay, so, I got us a couple of movies and some amazing sushi. I'll get the food ready and put in "National Treasure." I got the first and second ones. I figured you haven't seen them – you haven't have you?"

Brennan shook her head, still staring at the file. "No," was her simple response.

"I thought you would like them, they kind of have a National Geographic feel. Plus, Nicolas Cage is hot, so I can enjoy it." As she finished her statement, Angela went in the kitchen to get the food ready.

Brennan started the process of getting up off the couch. She tried not make any facial expression or noises. She needed to do this alone, she could do this alone.

She got up, used her crutches to go to the bathroom, and even figured out a way to carry a few more pillows into the living room. She was tired of lying down and with a few more pillows, she could pull up the coffee table and at least sit up.

She sat on the couch and worked to pull the coffee table up. She audibly winced when she moved a little too much. Angela came over, and without words, helped her finish moving the table. Angela let Brennan situate herself. She knew that her friend needed to 'go it alone' right now.

Angela yelled from the kitchen, "You want some ice Bren?"

Brennan thought for a second and responded by saying, "I probably need to do it now anyway, it's been a while. There's an ice pack on the counter."

Angela brought the food and the ice pack in the living room and started the movie. The pair stayed that way for the duration of both movies. Brennan had dozed off a couple of times, but enjoyed the movies.

At the end of the second movie, Ange looked at the clock and noticed it was after 6:00. She knew she was supposed to take some meds, but didn't want to bring it up. She opted to ask her, "Bren, do you need anything?"

She shook her head no and said, "I'm going to run, well maybe just go, to the restroom and then work on the case file for a little while. I'll log on to the Jeffersonian and see if the intern did more work since Booth pulled the file." She knew she needed to take some meds, but they were making her groggy and she needed to see what the pain was truly like. She couldn't discern if it was improving while on high powered pain killers.

As she came out of the back of the apartment, she noticed that Angela had finished cleaning up. Her friend saw her and spoke, "I probably need to get going, I've got to finish a painting for a charity art sale coming up. I'm kind of stuck on it and need to get it finished. You need anything?" She had to try to get her to take the meds one more time before she left.

"Nope, thanks for coming over. I'll be fine in a couple of days." She lied to her best friend, but thought that was what she needed to hear.

Angela hugged her friend goodbye and let herself out of the apartment.

Brennan sat back on the couch and sighed. Honestly, she knew it would be a lot more than a couple of days before she was 'fine.' She felt purposeless right now. She remembered Dr. Wyatt telling her that she was incapable of purposelessness. She smiled when she thought, 'If I would have gone with Sully, I would have been miserably bored.' At that thought, she decided she had done enough moping and got back to work on the case file.


	6. Visitors

**A/N - As always thanks for reviewing. This chapter could probably be left out, but I hope it's okay.**

Disclaimer - Bones does not belong to me or any member of my family. This story is for entertainment only.

Chapter 6

Brennan was slightly relieved to be alone. She appreciated that Angela and Booth wanted to help, but honestly, she would rather just hurt alone. She never understood why some people wanted an audience when they were in pain.

After a few minutes of thinking aimlessly, she decided she needed to be productive. It was now 7:15 and Booth would be back in another hour or so. Her mind wandered again, 'I wonder what he did while he was gone?' she thought. She then physically shook her head thinking, 'Snap out of this Temperance, he has a life. He's not yours.'

Productive, what could she manage to do on one leg without much movement? She could get brave and try to clean, but her leg was starting to throb again. After a few minutes of deliberation, she decided she could work on her book. She stood and ever so slowly made her way back to her kitchen. She needed to get a stack of sticky notes and a sharpie. Thankful she had pockets in her yoga pants; she loaded them up with the supplies and headed back to her little holdup on the couch.

She had tried different methods of brainstorming before, but the sticky note method worked best for her. She began to jot various ideas down. She had a couple of chapters written on her new novel, but wasn't really thrilled with them, brainstorming again was a necessity. She jotted down things such as, 'body found inside cave in rural Minnesota,' 'Kathy and Andy undercover as ??,' and 'body with postmortem skull trauma / ante mortem patellar fracture.' She pondered what she had written on the notes. It would be interesting to send Kathy and Andy undercover. Maybe she could have Kathy studying the gaits of suspects to narrow down the field. At any rate, she enjoyed her time undercover with Booth and it might make for an interesting twist in the book. She continued to scribble down idea after idea. In the process, lots of sticky notes hit the floor in tiny wads.

Around 8:40, she heard the lock on her door turning. "Hey Booth," she said without looking up.

He walked toward her and said, "Bones, if you don't want me to be alpha male, you need to quit making messes for me to clean up." He grinned as he reached down and pick up the sticky notes. He walked toward the kitchen garbage can and started opening a few of the slips of paper as he threw them in the garbage. "I don't blame you Bones; I would have thrown that one out too."

"Booth, you aren't supposed to look at that stuff before the book comes out anyway." She was a little aggravated at his actions.

"You could always stop me, oh wait, no you can't." He grinned at her and she responded with a blazing glare.

He sat on the couch beside her, he was done playing with her mind, and he needed to check on her. "All kidding aside now, Bones, how's the ankle?"

"The same as it was 6 hours ago when you left, I'm fine Booth." She was already tired of people asking her how she was. It was going to be a long road for sure.

"Looks like it's more swollen to me, you haven't been walking have you?" He was fixed on making sure he knew all the information he needed before he backed down.

She was getting snippier with him as she said, "No Booth! My foot hasn't touched the floor since yesterday. I'm fine. If you need to impress me with your manliness, you can bring me the ice pack. It's one thing I can't get on my own – yet." She stopped, she was still working to devise a way to get it on her own, she'd figure it out before long.

Booth silently went into the kitchen and got the ice ready. Brennan was thankful that he had not questioned the medicines yet. He probably would, but by then, she probably wouldn't need them anyway.

He came back from the kitchen and handed her a drink. He had a bowl of popcorn in his hand as well. He grabbed the remote from beside her and strategically placed it out of her reach. He couldn't have the Phillies being interrupted by a documentary or something.

"Ready to watch the game Bones?" Booth posed the question as if she would really want to watch with her.

"I think I'm going to work a little more on the book and then look at the case files some more." She really didn't care about the baseball game, but her dad and Russ had talked about it a lot.

They sat in silence for a long time. Booth focused on the game and Brennan on her work. She did feel like she had accomplished something. She had even rewritten the first chapter of the book and was much more satisfied with it. After the first chapter was done, Brennan looked up; the game was in the 6th inning. She shut down the computer and decided to get ready for bed. She didn't understand how she could be tired, she hadn't done anything. She yawned and reached for her crutches.

She readied herself for bed and headed back to the living room. She immediately took note that Booth had cleaned up the glasses, moved the coffee table, arranged her pillows, and set out an ice pack.

She was grateful that he was so thoughtful. She gave him a very simple, "Thanks Booth," and crawled on to the couch pulling the covers over her. She was asleep in just a few seconds.

Booth finished watching the game and decided it was time to call it a night. He was excited the Phillies won, but didn't dwell on it. He was really surprised that Bones hadn't tried to make him go home. He was glad, but surprised. With that final thought, he headed to bed, making sure to set his alarm to be up in time for Mass.

The next morning, Booth was up, showered, and ready by 7:30. He poked his head into the living room noting that Bones was still asleep. He thought, 'Either those meds knock her out or she is making up for years of lost sleep.'

He didn't wake her just wrote her a note, sat a muffin and juice on the coffee table, and turned on the coffee pot for her. Angela would be over shortly and he would come back tonight after he took Parker back home.

Brennan was still sleeping when Angela came in. It was barely 9:00, but that's very late for a certain forensic anthropologist. Angela just poured herself some coffee, picked up Brennan's laptop, and started shopping on-line.

An hour later, Brennan woke up. She looked at the things Booth had set out, and read his note. She finally spoke, "He could have brought Parker over, but it wouldn't have been fun for a 6 year old." Brennan loved the younger Booth.

"I think he was afraid Parker might be a little too active and would end up hurting you. What kind of person would do that?" Angela acted a little embarrassed. She still felt guilty about hurting her friend the day before.

"So Bren, what do you want to do today?" Angela asked. "I brought scrabble and a couple of other games. If you promise not to use seven syllable words, I'll play with you."

"Sure, just let me get a shower and we'll play."

The rest of the day was spent with the girls playing games, and talking. Brennan was careful to move the least amount possible. Her ankle was actually feeling worse, and Booth was right, it was still swelling. She knew she needed to take her meds now more than ever, but she wanted to stay in control of her body. She could handle this.

Around 4:00, there was a knock at the door. Angela answered it and Max walked in. He kissed Angela on the cheek and shot a puzzled look toward his daughter.

As he got closer, he noticed her elevated foot with the ice pack on it. He instinctively had to investigate so he pulled her ice pack off. "Temperance, baby, what happened?" He asked and then became a little agitated continuing more aggressively. "Booth didn't let you get hurt at a crime scene, did he? If he did, I'll take care of him. He's a good man, but he did arrest Russ."

Brennan cut into her father's rant to answer one of his 40 questions. "No Dad, I did this to myself at karate on Friday night. Don't worry, I went to the emergency room, I've been icing it, and I'm seeing a specialist on Monday. It's just some ligament damage, I'll be fine."

He kissed her on the head and said, "Do you remember spraining that same ankle when you were 10? You were as tough as they come. You didn't want to quit playing soccer with Russ after it happened, even though you were limping."

Brennan only shook her head, she hadn't remembered that, but did now that he brought it up. She now could count 3 other times that she had sprained this ankle. It didn't really matter now, but she needed to give that info to the orthopedic.

Max sat down, told his daughter he was just in the neighborhood, thought he come by, and order some take out for them. "Sure dad, that sounds good. I'm not going anywhere."

Honestly, Brennan was still working to sort out her feelings for her dad. She loved him, but didn't trust him fully yet. She could tell, however, that he was trying his best to be good to her now. She also knew Booth would kill him if he wasn't.

Angela left shortly after Max arrived. Brennan knew she was leaving to give them alone time. At any rate, she and her dad ate dinner, talked, and actually enjoyed the company. 'Maybe this family thing could work,' she thought to herself.

About 7:00, a small figure came bounding into the living room with a balloon. The balloon had a duck with a cast on his leg. Brennan couldn't help but laugh at the idea. 'It must be made by the same company that makes those purple elephants.'

Parker yelled, "Hey Dr. Bones, daddy said you hurt your foot, and he let me get you this balloon. He's taking me home now." Parker came over and hugged Brennan, whispering something in her ear that made her smile. Booth wondered what was said, but didn't ask.

Booth walked over and shook Max's hand. It was nice to be in the same room with him without having to arrest him. Truly, Booth like Max and didn't blame him for his actions. They were morally wrong, but you never know how you will react in a situation until you go through it.

Booth spoke, "Parker, let's go get you home. Bones, I'll be back in a little while."

With that, Booth took Parker home and Max left shortly after they did.

Brennan decided to get ready for bed, it was 8:00 now and she was hurting. The pain was there, but she had made it without the meds, she'd be fine.

Within 30 minutes, Brennan was settled onto the couch with the icepack on; she was ready to go to sleep. She drifted off, but woke up when Booth came in.

"Hey" she whispered.

"Hey Bones, did you dad leave?" He was surprised she was alone and asleep.

She was lying really still, but answered. "Yes, I'll call him tomorrow. Let him know what I find out."

Booth thought for a second and then spoke. "Speaking of tomorrow, do you want me to take you to your appointment? It's up to you." He hoped she would say yes and not insist on going alone.

She sighed and answered, "If you don't mind. I could probably drive, but getting in and out of the driver's side of the car would be hard."

Booth stood to let her go back to sleep. He spoke softly as he left the room. "Not a problem Bones. Good night."

He made his way to the guest room and went to bed. It was early, but he would get to sleep eventually.

Around 1:30 in the morning, something woke Booth. He couldn't make out whether Bones was talking in her sleep or talking on the phone. He walked into the living room and his heart sank. She was crying.

He walked over to her and knelt down, "Bones, what's wrong?"

She was panting and couldn't really answer him, but managed to get "hurts" out of her mouth between sobs.

He looked down to her feet and noticed that the pillows weren't in a neat stack. She must have started to turn over in her sleep and knocked them off. This would have made her ankle move to much, probably hurt like hell and scared her on top of the pain.

He jumped into action and got her medicine. He gave her the 2 pills and helped her to sit up so she could take them. He then got the ice pack and an extra bag of ice. He helped her get comfortable and iced the ankle. He then sat behind her on the couch rubbing circles on her back, telling her that it would be okay.

Brennan didn't speak, it hurt too much. She was glad Booth was there. After a few minutes, the searing pain was replaced by throbbing. She relaxed, and evened out her breathing. When she had her bearings, she said, "Thanks Booth." She had been saying that a lot lately.

He helped her lie back down and sat on the coffee table beside her. When he was sure she was back to sleep, he stood to leave. He stopped by the kitchen and glanced at the pill bottles, she obviously hadn't been taking them. He could say something, but figured that pain was lesson enough. He turned and went back to bed.


	7. Prognosis

**A/N - I'll have another short chapter up later, but wanted to go ahead and get this posted. **

Disclaimer - I am in no way associated with the TV show Bones.

Chapter 7

As he did every morning, Booth woke up early and got ready to start his day. He had a feeling it was going to be a long one. He hoped the doctor would give Bones some good news and they could get started on the case. He figured she would need to stay at the lab, but at least she could get out of her apartment.

As much as he hated to admit it, he knew he couldn't take her into the field until she could walk without a limp. His superiors would put him on paper duty for weeks if he did take her out. It was against policy for injured people to do field work. The reasoning was actually pretty good. It could endanger both members of the partnership. He was thankful that he would still be able to take her to crime scenes as long as they were secured. He could still give her that.

He despised the idea of going into the field without Bones, but knew that wouldn't be the worst part. Having to tell her that she couldn't go was 100 times worse. He just hoped she could understand and not blame him. Besides, it would just be for a few weeks. At least he hoped so.

Booth decided he needed to stop thinking and get ready, which he dd. He showered, shaved, and put on his suit. He picked the tie and socks he thought would alienate Bones the most. He had to keep her alert.

At 7:00 am, he went to wake her up. She was still sleeping soundly, probably a little groggy from the drugs. He brushed some of the hair out of her face and said, "Hey Bones" very softly. She opened her eyes and slowly sat up.

"Sorry I woke you last night." She appeared genuinely sorry.

Booth pulled her into a guy hug and said, "Don't worry about it Bones. We help each other out. It'll feel better soon and you can get rid of me."

"Booth, you don't have to do any of this, you know that." Brennan felt like she was imposing on him. She enjoyed his company, friendship, and help, but she didn't want to burden him.

He hugged her one more time and spoke very softly as he let her go, "I know Bones, but I want to help you. You deserve to have someone help you."

He decided to lighten the mood a little. "Now, Bones go get ready. I don't want you blaming me for making you late to your appointment. Besides, you need a shower."

She managed to swat him on the arm as she got up onto her crutches. As she walked down the hall, she turned to ask him a question. "Booth, did you say anything to Cam about all of this, or do I need to call her?"

He busied himself in the kitchen making coffee while he answered her. "No, I figured you wouldn't want her knowing at that point."

She kept going down the hall and said, "Okay, I'll call her on the way, I need to call my publicist anyway. I am supposed to have a book signing on Wednesday night. I can still do it, but we need to figure a way to avoid making this a spectacle."

He didn't really respond, but she knew he heard her. They didn't always have to acknowledge what the other was saying. She disappeared into the bathroom.

Thirty minutes later, Brennan was in her room working on getting dressed. Yoga pants and a tank wouldn't work today, but she was pretty sure she would have to wear tennis shoes. She decided on a pair of boot cut jeans and a red button down blouse. At least the color reflected her mood as of late, snappy.

She finished up and went into the living room to put on her ankle brace and shoes. She had about 10 minutes before they needed to leave at 8:15. She sat on the couch, got on the brace, her shoes, and rose to leave.

Booth was standing at the counter waiting for her. He handed her two pills. She gave him a glare, but took the pills without protest. 'He must have figured out I wasn't taking them,' she thought. She knew she would need them today anyway. She assumed the orthopedic would pull her leg in a million directions.

Booth picked up her laptop bag, grabbed 2 mugs of coffee, and headed to the door. He opened it for Bones so she could make her way out. "Let's get this show on the road Bones," he said.

She smiled. She understood that phrase.

Once in the car, she called Cam and explained everything to her. She told her she would be in later barring any major developments. She then called her publicist who agreed that it wouldn't be good for her to come into a book signing on crutches. They would work it out with the book store so that she could get into the area and situated before customers were allowed in.

The doctor's office was adjacent to the hospital. Booth parked and went to get her crutches from the back seat. He opened her door, handed her the crutches, but let her get out on her own. He knew she valued her independence and he could make himself give her the space.

Once inside, she signed in. When she was called up to the desk to pick up her endless mound of paper work, Booth stopped her. He walked up, got it, and gave it to her. He would get it for her, but no way was he going to fill it out.

She filled out all the basic paper work, name address, phone, etc. Then she started on the orthopedic history. She had to recount her three other ankle injuries. She wrote what little she knew about the sprain her dad told her about and also the time she sprained it at a dig in college. Then she outlined the most recent occurrence five years ago. She had been playing tennis with her then boyfriend. She jumped to hit the ball, landed hard and rolled her ankle. She thought for a minute about how much nicer Booth had been to her than her boyfriend. 'He's not even my boyfriend,' she pondered.

She quickly finished up by mentioning the wrist she broke in New Orleans and the broken ribs she received in El Salvador. There were other minor injuries like the pistol hit she took from Kenton, but those wouldn't need to be mentioned.

Booth couldn't help, not really anyway, but notice what she was writing. He didn't realize that she had hurt her ankle or ribs. They had grown so close in the last three years, but there was still so much to learn about her. There was a lot he had not told her as well. He wanted to tell her his story, wanted to learn about her.

She finished the paper work and Booth turned it in for her. In just a few minutes, they called for her to come back. Booth sat and posed a question. "Bones, do you want me to just wait?"

She thought for just a second. She knew he wanted to come. Other than pride, she had no reason to stop him. She knew he needed to be protective; she could at least give that to him.

"It's fine Booth, you can come." She then turned to go back.

She didn't have to tell him twice. He walked back with her, helping her with the 3 doors they had to pass through.

The exam room was very simple. There was a brown leather chaise exam table and a wall full of x-ray lights. Brennan noticed the large brown envelop on the table underneath them that had 'T. Brennan' on it. She picked it up and started looking through the large stack of images. She found the stress views and held them up, one after another.

Booth noticed she was squinting at one particular x-ray. She finally put it down and had that 'lost little girl' look on her face. He assumed that she figured something out. He'd hear soon enough, he didn't need to ask her.

In just a few minutes, a nurse came in and took her vitals. She also asked a couple of questions and then told Brennan to go ahead and take both her shoes and ankle brace off. She glanced quickly at her ankle and shot her a compassionate glance. She finished up by taking a couple of still pictures for her file and told them the doctor would be in shortly.

In about 10 minutes, a dark haired, stately looking gentleman knocked and entered the room. He certainly looked capable.

He shook Brennan's hand and said, "I've seen some of your bone research. You and your group do great work." He gave her a kind smile and added, "Also, my wife and teenage daughter love your books."

Brennan was pleased that he noted her research before her books, typically people only mentioned the books. It was a nice change.

The doctor turned to Booth who introduced himself as, "Special Agent Seeley Booth. I'm Dr. Brennan's partner in crime solving." Booth finished by sticking his hands in his pockets.

Brennan was pretty sure he was trying to make sure the doctor knew he was armed. She didn't know why he would do that. The doctor certainly wasn't a threat.

"It's nice to meet you." The doctor said as he shook Booth's hand quickly turning his attention back to Brennan.

"Spence sent me your file and I looked it over during my call shift yesterday. The films from the emergency room show some pretty extensive injuries to that ankle. It's going to take us some work to get you back to 100." Dr. Jameson was compassionate as he spoke, but not falsely positive.

"I'm sorry to say this, but I'm going to have to examine both your ankles myself. Did you take some pain meds this morning?" When he asked, Booth felt proud.

Brennan nodded in response and prepped herself for a repeat of Friday night.

The doctor started by gently touching to determine the degree of swelling. He flipped his eyes back and forth between her chart and person. "It looks like the swelling is still increasing despite elevation. Is the pain improving at all?"

She didn't want to answer him, but knew she had to. "No, not really. I can handle it as long as I keep it elevated and iced regularly. Moving is pretty painful though." She kept things simple and non descriptive.

He started working her healthy ankle and recorded some information along with a few caliper measurements. He gave her a little warning by cutting his eyes to hers. He then started the exam the ER doctor had done. Brennan gritted her teeth and tried not to cry.

Booth noticed her reaction and grabbed her hand. His fingers quickly turned white from her squeezing.

When it came time to test the high ankle injury, Jameson spoke again. "I'm sorry, but are you alright to keep going?"

Brennan let out the breath she had been holding and said, "Yes, let's get it over with."

He nodded and put on hand on her foot and squeezed at her calf. When he did, Brennan turned in to Booth's chest instinctively. She buried her head into his shirt. It was an impulse reaction, but it made her feel better, safe.

Booth was a little shocked at first, but quickly started rubbing her back.

The doctor cut a look to them and thought, 'They are the closest work partners I've ever seen.'

The doctor finished with that test and put her foot back on the table. "One last part," he said tentatively. "I'm going to have to get you to stand. I need to see if you can bear any weight and determine the positioning of your ligaments."

Brennan nodded in silence. Booth became visibly defensive, but didn't speak.

The doctor pulled up a small, one step stool that had a rail. He instructed her to stand on the step with all of her weight on her right foot. He sat on a low stool feeling her right ankle before giving further instructions.

"When you are ready, please lower your left foot down." He was at least kind toned.

Brennan did as instructed quickly and winced when her foot barely touched the surface. It had to hurt.

Booth, who was helping to steady her as she stood, shot the doctor an FBI glance. He thought, 'He knows I have a gun, but is still doing this. He's brave.'

The doctor felt her left ankle for a brief moment and noticed that Brennan had again buried her head in Booth's chest.

He spoke again. "Now, I need you to try and slowly lift your right foot as much as you can tolerate. He looked at Booth, "Make sure and keep her steady."

Brennan did as requested and for the first time since the injury said, "I can't." Tears fell as she said it. "It hurts too much." Was the only other phrase she could get out. She had only managed to get her right foot onto the tiptoe position, that was it.

The doctor quickly felt and turned to Booth again. "Why don't you put her back on the table?"

Booth scooped Brennan up and gently sat her down. He swept away a few stray hairs. Her eyes were still pinched shut. He then went back to her side and grabbed her hand.

"I'll be right back," Jameson said. "I'm going to get her some ice."

He was back very shortly and gave a still jaw clenched Brennan a pillow and ice. Booth mouthed a simple thanks to the doctor who responded with a nod.

After a couple of minutes, of writing in her chart and reviewing the x-rays, he closed her chart.

Brennan exhaled and tried to focus on the doctor. Booth sat up straighter.

"Alright, so it looks like there are five ligaments involved. Four complete tears and one partial tear of the posterior tib/fib. It would probably still be considered a grade III though. The anterior tib/fib and all three of the ligaments Dr. Spence mentioned the other evening are completely torn." The doctor had a pained expression on his face as he gave her the news.

He paused for a second and continued. "Honestly, I think you are going to end up needing surgery, but I'm willing to give your body a couple of days to see what kind of improvement and range of motion it can do on its own." He waited for a nod from Brennan before going on.

"You wrote that you've injured that ankle three times before, correct?" He asked.

Brennan nodded and spoke, "It's been slightly weaker than my right for a while, but never painful. It would catch on occasion."

"Well," the doctor replied, "it will definitely feel different if we don't get this healed properly. Hopefully we can minimize any long term effects."

Brennan was a little upset from the news, but didn't let on. She began her line of questioning. "What's the general recovery time?" She cut right to the chase.

Dr. Jameson thought and glanced at the chart again before speaking. "It will depend. If you don't need surgery, you will be non-weight bearing for 4-6 weeks. You'll undergo physical therapy during that time but will go into aggressive therapy as soon as you can bear enough weight, total recovery time of about five or six months." He stopped for a second and then went on. "If we choose surgery, you'll be non-weight bearing for at least three months after the surgery and then have a minor surgery to remove the pins we'll use to stabilize the tibia and fibula. You'll then do aggressive therapy with full range of motion regained in 8-12 months."

Booth's jaw dropped. He didn't expect to hear this kind of time frame. Brennan was simply sitting digesting the new information when the doctor broke the silence. "What I want to do is send you for an MRI so I can get a picture of the damage. Afterward, come back here, and we'll put you in a soft cast. I would say you need to stay pretty still until at least Wednesday. Let the pain tell you what you can do." He waited for her to acknowledge this recommendation with a nod.

He continued, "Let your pain and swelling tell you what you can do. If you feel the cast getting tighter, make sure to elevate and slow down." He was almost finished.

"I want to see you back on Friday to see what improvements you've made. We'll do more x-rays and redo the cast. We'll discuss surgery / other options at that point. Until then, keep taking the meds Spence prescribed. You can stop the narcotic when you go back to work but stay on the anti inflammatory. If you hurt too much, go home and take the hard stuff." He stood to leave and patted her on the shoulder saying, "Be careful."

As he exited, he stopped, turned around and asked one final question. "Temperance, do you mind if I use your injury as a case study for some research. Your injury is very rare and would be a great study for the mechanism of lateral ankle injuries combined with high ankle injuries."

Brennan thought it was ironic that she had invested so much of her life into research and she had just become the subject of someone else's research project. "That's fine," she said, "let me know if I can help in anyway." He nodded and left saying thank you. As he did, Brennan was thinking silently, 'I'll help you as much as you need as long as you don't touch my leg or make me stand again.'


	8. Coworkers and Therapists

**A/N – Hope this is still going well. Let me know if you absolutely hate something. I'm open to changing things. This chapter was actually part of 7, but I added a little bit split it up. It's a little short. FYI—This will probably be the last update until Saturday, late evening. Have to go to the in laws' who live in the land prior to wireless internet.**

Disclaimer – Bones is property of Fox Broadcasting.

Chapter 8

Brennan and Booth sat in silence in the exam room waiting for the nurse to return. Both were lost in their pouting thoughts. Finally, the nurse returned and spoke, "MRI is ready for you. It's on the second floor, just follow the signs. It shouldn't take long since it is only your left ankle we are concerned about. Come back here as soon as you finish and Dr. Jameson will align you ankle and soft cast you."

"Thanks," said Booth as he got up to leave.

The pair was quiet as they made their way to the main hospital. Brennan was hurting and lost in thought. Booth knew that she was upset, but she would soon perk up. She was Bones after all.

The MRI was over within 30 minutes and was at least the one painless test she had been given recently. Soon after they finished, Brennan was put in her soft cast, which was very painful to do, and ready to leave.

Even though they had done a lot of things, they were back in the SUV by 11:45. Despite Booth's protests, they were headed to the lab. He had agreed to take her only if she would stay just long enough to update everyone and give the 'intern of the week' some guidance. She would then go to the diner with Booth before he took her home.

Back at the Jeffersonian, the team was working on the new case. Angela was scanning the skull to do a 3D rendering and Hodgins was scanning the clothing for unidentified particulates. So far, they had come up empty. Things were always slower without Brennan and Booth.

Hodgins walked into Angela's office. "Hey Ange?" His voice was always sad when he spoke to her now. The breakup was putting a strain on them both. "Where's the good doctor today? She's never out or this late, especially when we have a case?"

"She mangled her ankle at karate Friday." Angela explained. "Booth took her to the orthopedic surgeon for an evaluation this morning. She should be here by now." Angela was obviously worried about her friend.

Jacks heart sank for the love of his life and her best friend. He wanted nothing more but to grab her up and hug her until she smiled. That was out of the question since the break up. He settled on using his words instead and said, "Hey, I'm sure she'll be fine. She's tough and has you and Booth."

Angela just nodded; she was worried about her friend. All she wanted was a hug from Jack and his gentle assurance that all was alright. All that she wanted, but she couldn't have it.

As Jack left Angela's office, he ran into Booth and was a little shocked to see Brennan on crutches. He let them pass and followed them back into the office.

Brennan sat down wearily and put her leg up on the coffee table. She spoke first, "Ange, can you call Cam and the intern and have them come in here. I really don't want to go through this story 40 times."

Angela looked worried at her friend's demeanor, but did as requested. In just a few minutes, everyone was sitting in her office.

Brennan sighed and began. "Okay, so obviously, I hurt my ankle. I tore four ligaments completely and another is only partially torn." The team listened as she went over the events of the morning and explained that she would be back in the lab on Wednesday and would know more about the recovery time after that.

Everyone rose and Angela hugged her. "Ange, can you go in my and get the files in my top filing cabinet drawer?" Angela nodded and made her way out of the office. Cam, Brennan and Booth were the only ones left. Hodgins left just before Angela, kissing Brennan on the cheek first.

As Cam went to leave, Brennan said, "Cam, can you wait a second?" She looked at Booth, "Booth, the file for the Thompson case is on my desk, you might want to go get it."

Booth knew when he was being kicked out and complied with the hidden request.

Brennan then addressed her boss. "Cam, please call me with whatever you need. I want to work, I need to work."

Cam understood her frustration and assured her that she would call her often and post everything on the network so that Brennan could access it via VPN. Cam then addressed her about her injury. "If you need help or any medical information, just let me know. I'm assuming surgery is the strongest possibility?"

Brennan nodded and thanked Cam for the offer.

Just a few seconds later, Booth returned and the pair left to go to the diner. They sat at their regular table and Booth leaned Brennan's crutches against the wall.

They sat quietly and ate their lunches. Brennan felt pretty lousy. Pain medicine always made her nauseous. That's why she avoided it at all costs. She did her best to eat anyway. She didn't want Booth to worry.

A few minutes into their meal, a frustrated looking therapist walked in the door. He came to their table and spoke. Neither of the pair really acknowledged his presence. He started his rant. "I'm not sure if you two understand, but after Booth's non-death and your right hook, you were ordered to meet with me weekly until I declare your partnership mended." He continued, "Care to explain where you were this morning?"

Booth silently cursed, he had forgotten to call Sweets and tell him so they could avoid this type of situation. They had learned to like the man, but he was serious about their sessions and always assumed they were trying to skip out.

After a couple of seconds, Sweets was still ranting and Booth looked like he wanted to knock the kid on the side of the head to point his marvelous powers of observation to the crutches leaned against the wall. Booth mustered up some self control and didn't say anything.

Sweets was still rambling and started to pass behind Brennan to sit beside her. When he did, he bumped her chair fairly hard. This jostled Brennan who hissed from the bump it caused her.

At that point, Sweets saw Brennan breathing deeply and cued into the fact that something was up.

Booth decided to speak before Sweets set into 20 questions. "Sweets, maybe you could say excuse me before bumping someone's chair." Sweets now looked a little scared and Booth kept talking. "Bones hurt her ankle Friday night and we just forgot to call you and tell you that she had a doctor's appointment this morning. If you want, I'm sure she can bring the teacher a doctor's excuse so she can get her makeup work."

"I'm really sorry Dr. Brennan. Are you okay?" Sweets did look remorseful for his actions. Honestly, he felt stupid too.

Brennan nodded and said, "I'm fine Dr. Sweets. I'll be okay after a little while off my ankle."

Sweets nodded in compassion and said. "I guess since you actually have a reason, I'll let this miss slide. I'll get with Booth to reschedule the appointment."

Booth stood to leave commenting, "You do that Sweets."

Sweets had a stunned look on his face when he realized that Booth was once again leaving him with his diner bill.

Booth handed Brennan her crutches and the pair left the diner.

In the SUV, Booth finally decided it was time to check on Bones. He had left her alone long enough for one day. "How you doing Bones?"

"I'm okay Booth. I just want to get home and back on the couch." He knew that was big, Brennan actually wanting to rest. He figured some of it was her desire to have some quiet time to contemplate her options.

She spoke again first. "I'm going to do some research about the type of injury I have. I want to be able to make an informed decision when that time comes."

"Sounds good Bones," he knew she would be okay after she mapped out a plan. He was pretty sure that she used a system to work through situations and research was part of that system.

They rode in silence the rest of the way to her apartment and Brennan went immediately to her bedroom to change. If she was at home, she could at least be comfortable. She came back in the living room and sat on the couch.

Soon, Booth came over with some ice. He noticed that the soft cast was thin enough for ice to help.

He also gave her the medicine and started to talk. "Listen Bones, I really need to get going on this case. Will you be okay?"

Brennan responded saying, "Yes Booth, I'll be fine. I'm going to hang out here and do a few things on my laptop. I'll probably take a nap too." Nap sounded the best right now, but she would decide what to do after he left.

Booth was putting some things like the remote and cordless phone in arms reach of when he said, "If you say so, Bones, if you need anything, call my cell. I'll be back by 6:30." Booth was getting ready to leave.

Despite her efforts to stay awake until he left, Brennan's eyes started drooping. When he said "Bye Bones," all she could do was say "Thanks" before she was fast asleep. He threw a blanket over her and walked out the door.


	9. The Assignment

**A/N - Sorry I didn't update yesterday, out of town. I have a lot written but not typed. I thought I would put it in shorter chapters and update as I get chunks typed. As always, please let me know what you think. I appreciate all the reviews thus far.**

**Side note, I have had several ask if I'm in the medical profession. The answer is no, but I was going to be. I'm a science teacher. I have all the requirements for medical school, but opted not to apply. I chose a different path in life-education.  
**

Disclaimer - Bones belongs to Fox.

Chapter 9

Booth made his way back to the Jeffersonian to confer with the team about the case. When he arrived, he learned that Angela had the facial reconstruction complete, but didn't have any direction as to where to start the search. There were thousands of databases from which to choose and running searches without some kind of guidance was a waste of time. Hodgins was working to identify a certain type of sap he found in small concentration on the clothing of the deceased. At least maybe that would give them a starting point.

After checking in with both Hodgins and Angela, Booth decided to talk with Cam before heading back to the Hoover Building. He knocked on her office door. "Hey Cam," he waited until she acknowledged him to speak further. "Do you have any info for me on the new case?"

Cam began her explanation, "I ran tox screens and DNA samples on Friday night. I just got the DNA results back and there were no hits on CODIS. The tox screen came up empty as well. I know that Hodgins is working with the particulates and that sap. Maybe we will have something this afternoon."

"Anything on cause of death?" He asked.

Cam shook her head and said, "There are a lot of fractures around the ribs and vertebra, but they are more Dr. Brennan's area than mine. I looked at them, but they don't look like anything I've seen before. I put all of the information on the network for her to pull when she's ready."

Booth sighed, he hated waiting. "It might be a little while before she looks at them. She crashed when I took her home after lunch."

Cam nodded and prodded, "How is she, really? This has to be hard for her. She hasn't missed a day of work since I started and probably not before that either."

Booth still liked Cam a lot, just in a romantic sense. She was a good person and once things smoothed over at the beginning of her job at the Jeffersonian, she was good to Bones. That went a long way with him. He responded to her question, "I honestly don't know Cam. She is still in a lot of pain right now, but hates the way the pain meds make her feel. The appointment this morning was terrible because of all the testing. It was awful to watch. The doctor is lucky I didn't shoot him."

Cam grinned and laughed a little. "Take care of her Seeley, I need her here, plus, she deserves to have someone there for her." Booth nodded and was a little shocked at the sentiment and the way Cam said it. Was she implying something?

With that, they said their good byes, and Booth headed back to his office to do what he dreaded most, talk to his boss.

In the car, Booth's thoughts went back to the Cleo Eller case. He had absolutely dreaded working with Dr. Brennan again after the last debacle, but he knew she could help him. He recalled his time in Cullen's office trying to convince him to let her go into the field. Little did he know that 3 years later he would be talking to the same man about the same partnership, again.

He picked up his cell and called that man. He respected him greatly. He was always fair and consistent. He had given Booth and Brennan more freedom and latitude since Amy's case. Booth snapped out of his trance when Cullen answered.

"Yes sir, it's Booth." Then he paused allowing his boss to speak. "I was hoping that you would be in your office in a few so that I could talk to you about an issue that has arisen." There was another pause, followed by Booth's final statement, "Yes sir, I'll be there in 20. Thank you sir."

Booth pulled up at the Hoover, went into his office, grabbed the new case file and headed to Cullen. He was as nervous as he ever remembered being about talking to this man.

Booth poked his head in the door. Before he could speak, Cullen said, "Sit down Booth." He was obviously finishing up an email.

Booth watched him click send and turn to face him. He said bluntly, "What did you want to discuss? I only have a few minutes I can give you."

"I understand sir," he sighed as he began the dreaded discussion. "It's concerning Dr. Brennan and field work."

Cullen interrupted him, "Please tell me she didn't shoot someone again." He rolled his eyes and let Booth continue.

Booth smiled and his mood lightened slightly, "No sir, she didn't. She just injured her ankle pretty badly Friday night. She's going to be on crutches for at least a month, longer if she ends up needing surgery. She will be in physical therapy for between six to eight months minimum." Cullen raised his eyebrows at Booth's words. He knew why Booth was telling him all of this.

Booth went on, "Sir, I was hoping that I wouldn't be reassigned a new partner. I know that's the usual plan of action when there is an extended health issue. That would also mean that Dr. Brennan would be reassigned when she is medically cleared as well." Booth hated even saying those words.

Cullen became a little defensive, "Booth, you know I can't break the rules for you, even if I wanted to. You can't do field work alone. I know that your partnership with Dr. Brennan is one of the best things I was ever talked into doing, but I'm not sure you understand the flak I took when I made that happen. I can't pull strings and have a solo FBI agent in the field."

Booth did his best to stay calm, "I understand sir, but she won't work with anyone else, I can assure you of that. Honestly, sir, I'm not sure that I will either. I was hoping that we could do some kind of temporary assignment until she is healthy again." Booth hoped the temporary solution would not be desk duty. Booth added a few more words he thought might help. "Dr. Brennan will still available in the lab to work on cases, so I can still serve as the liaison to the Jeffersonian."

Cullen thought silently for a few seconds and then turned back to his computer, making Booth nervous. He finally spoke, "Tell you what Booth, we've got a newbie that just came out of Quantico. I can put her with you and when Brennan is healthy, she will be assigned a permanent partner."

Booths mind froze on one word, "she." This would be tougher than he thought. Hopefully, this "she" would be tough and able to hold her own without whining. Booth hated working with whiners almost as much as desk work.

He knew he had to act pleased with Cullen's decision and said, "Thank you sir, I'm sure she can learn a thing or two from the team at the Jeffersonian."

With that, Cullen dismissed Booth, but as he was almost out the door, he called for him. "Booth, tell her I said to feel better soon. I need her here."

Booth nodded and grinned as he walked back to this office. This person, his Bones was supposed to be cold and distant yet, she made her way into the hearts of many people, at least those worthy of her.

As Booth walked, his cell phone rang. He flipped it open and gave his usual greeting, "Booth."

It was Cam on the other end of the line. She was on speaker phone with the lab. "Hodgins just identified the sap from the clothing as a species of maple indigenous only to Randolph County West Virginia."

Angela broke in, "I'm checking it against DMV records right now. I should have something in a few minutes."

"Great, thanks Angela. I've got to go meet with someone for a few minutes, but I'll be back there in a little while." Booth hung up.

He dreaded meeting this "she," but he knew he needed to introduce himself. It was almost 4:30, and they wouldn't do any interrogating today. It was too late to start, and he had to tell Bones before he actually went to work with her. He probably should have mentioned the policy to her already, but he figured she had enough to worry about.

With those thoughts running through his mind, he began the walk to the bullpen.


	10. Green

**A/N - This was originally with Chapter 9. Please let me know if you don't like it. I wrote it late last night and I can get loopy sometimes that late when I'm using a pen and not a PC.**

Disclaimer - Bones is property of Fox.

Chapter 10

Booth made his way into the beginning agent bullpen. He remembered his days there. Thankfully, it didn't last long for him. He had worked like a mad man to make special agent status. It was a wild ride, but one he didn't regret.

He saw one of the supervisors he knew and asked where he could find agent Julie Nichols. He was pointed in the direction of a small statured, 20-something with a head full of blond hair and blue eyes sitting at a desk in her cubicle. He thought about her eyes for a moment. They were blue, but darker than Bones' and no where near as pure. He definitely preferred Bones' eyes.

He walked over to her cube and knocked on the metal frame. She immediately stood and looked a little confused. He picked up on this and opted to speak first. "I'm Booth. Cullen said you would be working with me until my partner is healthy again." He reached out to shake her hand.

She gave him a smirk that he couldn't get a read on and said, "That's good, I mean bad. What happened to him?"

Booth didn't see genuine concern in her eyes, and certainly didn't appreciate the "him" remark, so he answered abruptly, "Torn ligaments in her ankle."

The young woman responded, "Yuck! Happened during the apprehension of a suspect?"

Booth shook his head and said simply, "No, karate."

She could tell he didn't want to talk. She really didn't care. She was just thankful that her first partner looked good and wasn't wearing a wedding band.

Booth was uncomfortable and chose to take care of business and leave. "Here's the case number we are working right now. I'll meet you at 7:30 in the morning to get started. It's a Jeffersonian case so I am going to work with them on the ID right now."

Nichols just nodded and decided to make a remark she was sure would win him over. "I hear that crew can be quite a challenge." She was certain a great FBI agent like him would be driven crazy by scientists like them.

As she saw Booth's expression, she realized she might have made a mistake. He couldn't enjoy working with them, could he?

Booth looked completely pissed and said, "7:30." He turned and left the bullpen, he was mad enough to punch someone, or a clown if he could find one.

By the time he was back at the lab, he was calmed down a little. He walked into Angela's office. She looked up, "Hey studly," She said. At least she was feeling better.

"Hey Angela, what do you have for me?" He asked and she handed him the DMV record of Phillip Watson. He was a 27 year old who had been missing for around 8 months. He was last seen in Randolph County West Virginia. He worked as a code inspector for the local authorities. His last known whereabouts were when he left his job to go to a building site. He never showed up. His car was found in a lake 20 miles from his office. No blood or sign of foul play was found.

As he read the information Angela gave him, she studied his face. She knew right off that he was worried about something. She came right out and asked, "Are you worried about something, or did someone take your parking place again?"

He wasn't amused, "Very funny Angela. I'm just worried about Bones and --, " he paused to sigh, "This whole situation. I am going to have to break the justice seeking side of her heart." He ran his fingers through his hair and plopped on her couch.

Angela was nervous and confused. She said, "Spill Booth."

He began, "The FBI won't allow injured people in the field at all. It's common practice when a recovery will be more than about six weeks, to reassign the healthy partner. The injured party is reassigned when they are cleared for work again." He looked at Angela, now seated beside him.

"I can't take Bones to interrogations, on warrant executions, or on stake outs. She can only go to crime scenes when it has been secured by locals or the FBI." He finished by saying, "I begged Cullen and he assigned me a green agent. She starts working with me in the morning."

He wanted to add, 'She's a real piece of work,' but didn't want to turn Angela against her yet. Nichols would do that herself when she met the team.

Angela was stunned and for once in her life only had a few words to say, "Whoa, Booth, this is huge."

Booth knew Angela understood both Bones and him, so he elaborated a little further about his feelings. "You know Angela, just after the incinerator case, Bones asked me if I would ever betray her and I promised I wouldn't. I came close when I died, but this one may be a betrayal in her eyes. I couldn't stop it." Booth had a lump in his throat.

Angela grabbed his hand, slightly surprised he allowed it. She began to speak, "She'll understand Booth, just be there for her like you have been. We'll get her through this." She smiled and finished, "I know you care for her more than you let on Booth, she deserves someone like you."

Booth felt a little better, but was a little stunned he heard the word deserve twice in one day. He stood to leave. He needed to get home, well, to Bones, not home. It was now 6:00 and he wanted to pick up Chinese take out on the way back to her place. "Thanks Angela and thanks for being there for Bones too."

Angela decided he felt better and she could be a little more upfront now that he had released some of his burden. "Not a problem Booth, now go make your ailing woman more comfortable."

Booth just shook his head as he walked out.

45 minutes later, Booth opened her apartment door to find a still sleeping Bones. 'She must have taken some more medicine – good girl' he thought.

He went to wake her gently, "Hey Bones, I've got some food. Wake up before you turn into Rip Van Winkle." She woke slowly and stretched. She looked a little off, so he said, "You okay Bones?"

She finally spoke, "Yes, I just feel yucky and numb. Pain meds always make me feel that way. I hate it." She was reaching to get her crutches as she spoke. Booth was slightly amused that she had chosen the words yucky and numb instead of clinical terms.

She rose, made her way to the bathroom and back. Booth had put the food and plates on the table. She sat in a chair and he pushed her another one for her leg.

They ate in silence for a few minutes and Booth decided he had better break the news to her. He couldn't keep putting it off. "Bones, you know the FBI has all kinds of policies right?" She nodded and he went on. "I talked to Cullen today and you can't go into the field until you have full medical clearance, 95 percent function, I think." She had stopped eating and looked at him.

He took a cleansing breath and went on. "Anyway, they usually assign a new permanent partner when this happens." Her face looked shocked and lost a little of its color. "But, I was able to talk Cullen into giving me a green to train on a temporary basis. He'll reassign her when you are healthy again. I met her this afternoon."

Bones felt sick to her stomach, but managed to maintain her composure. She was shocked and wanted to blame Booth, but couldn't. She could tell by his face that he was doing a good job of beating himself up over it anyway.

"Don't worry about it Booth. I couldn't expect you to spend 6-8 months going into the field alone. It's too dangerous." She tried to force a smile to reassure him of her understanding.

He could tell she was upset, but would be okay. They began to eat again quietly, both processing the news. In a few minutes, Brennan broke the silence. "Booth, what's a green? I'm assuming it has something to do with inexperience."

Booth almost spewed his drink when she asked. That's my Bones he thought before explaining the term to her.

After a few more minutes of eating they were done. "What do you want to do Bone, I'll clean this up and then I am at you beck and call."

"I don't know Booth, I need to look at the new case info and call my dad and publicist and let them know what I found out today." He nodded at her response.

She made her way back to the couch and sat down, leg up on the coffee table. She called her dad who was worried about his daughter. Then she called her publicist who was worried about negative press and rumors. She then pulled up the case info through the VPN. She studied the x-ray images for a long time. The fractures she saw of the ribs and the thoracic vertebrae were odd. They looked like compression fractures, but why were the vertebrae fractured in the back? Usually, only the ribs would be fractured in the back. She sent an email to Hodgins asking him to swab the vertebrae in question for elemental trace evidence. She thought maybe something would show up.

She looked at the clock, she had spent two hours on the phone or looking at the case. Booth was watching a hockey game on TV. She wondered, 'Is there always a sporting event on?'

She closed her laptop and Booth looked up. "Ready for bed Bones?"

"No, I think I slept too much today. You can go on to bed or home if you want.." She was physically tired, but not mentally ready to sleep.

"Nah, I'm not ready, but if it's alright with you, I'll stay." He answered and she didn't argue. She knew he needed to protect; she was willing to be the recipient right now.

"Angela left the movies she brought Saturday. You can put one in if you want." She pointed to the shelf below the TV where the DVDs were sitting.

He stood and looked at the DVDs, "I haven't seen the second one," He popped it in the DVD player. "You need anything? Ice?"

She didn't answer, so he knew that was a yes.

He grabbed a drink, turned off a couple of the lights, and placed and ice pack on her foot. She smiled at him for the action. The ice felt nice, but still wasn't helping the swelling at all. She pretty much knew that she wasn't healing on her own.

As he sat back down, he thought about asking her when she took the meds, but decided to wait until they went to bed. She would rest better then.

The pair watched the movie in silence. About halfway through, Brennan started shifting like she was uncomfortable. Booth was sitting on the couch beside her and felt especially brave. "Bones, sit back and put your leg in my lap. I'm comfortable and don't want to move, but you need to sit back if you aren't comfortable." It seemed like a valid argument to him.

She nodded and turned back onto the couch. He grabbed a pillow and placed it in his lap. Soon, both of her legs were settled in his lap. He grabbed the throw off the back of the couch and covered her bare feet. He gave her a minute to settle and then said, "Comfortable?"

She spoke only to give him yet another "Thanks Booth."

They finished the movie and at some point, Booth had started rubbing his hand gently over her calf and casted lower leg. She didn't mind, it felt nice. When the credits rolled, she reached for her crutches and rose to get ready for bed.

A few minutes later she reemerged from her bedroom making her way back to the couch. "Bones," he got her attention. "Here take these." He walked over to her and gave her the pills and a glass of water as soon as she sat back down. "How much longer do you plan on sleeping on the couch?" He asked.

"I don't know," she answered. "It's comfortable, and minimizes movement."

He nodded and walked back to the kitchen as she was settling down. "Need anything else?" He asked, but came up empty. He walked over to her and realized that her breathing had become steady and she was already asleep. He knew she wasn't feeling well, physically or emotionally, but he was glad she was letting him in.

"Sleep tight Bones." He said quietly as he disappeared into the guest room for the fourth night in a row.


	11. Working the Case

**A/N -- This is a little filler. It's short and I have more written, but it's done, so I'm going to post. Thanks for your reviews. I'll put more up later tonight including the rest of this chapter.  
**

Disclaimer - Bones belongs to Fox.

Chapter 11

The next morning, Tuesday, Booth was back in his SUV by 6:45. He had left everything Bones would need on her coffee table. He also left her a note to call him when she woke up.

He made his way to the Hoover to pick up his new co-worker. She was not his partner, Bones was his partner even if she couldn't go into the field with him right now.

He walked back into the newbie bullpen and saw Nichols talking with a couple of the young agents. 'A good agent would be looking over the case file, or at the least getting coffee,' he thought. This was going to be a long case. He walked up and said plainly, "Nichols, let's go."

She complied and they headed out to his SUV. Booth thought for a few minutes about making her sit in the back seat, but realized that would be cruel. As much as he wanted to keep her out of Bones' seat, he let it go.

In the car, he questioned her about the case file. "Did you look over the file I told you about?" He really didn't know what type of answer to expect.

She began, "Yes, 27 year old Phillip Watson, found dead during a walk through at a warehouse on the outskirts of town. Watson was a building inspector from West Virginia. No family living in the area, he grew on the west coast." She took at the file and looked at all the Jeffersonian work so far before continuing. "The rest of this stuff is lab stuff, I can't make sense of it and it's probably not important." That was all she knew.

Booth bit back a smart remark and gave her the highlights. "His body was moved after he died. Tox screen came up empty. Bones says we should look for some type of crushing as cause of death, but it doesn't look like a typical crushing to her. She says it looks more like he was pinned between two objects." He figured that was enough for her to think about for a while.

She had a puzzled look on her face and had to ask, "Who's Bones?"

He answered her without elaboration, "My partner."

They finished the ride to the warehouse complex in silence.

Once they arrived, Booth told Nichols "Let me do the talking." He hoped she would listen and not make his job harder.

They walked in the first building in the warehouse complex and saw a worker. Booth asked, "Hey buddy, can you tell me where I can find the person in charge of this complex." As he asked, he flashed his FBI badge. He rolled his eyes when he looked a Nichols who was clumsily trying to find hers.

The young man answered, "Yes sir, his office is in that building across the parking lot. His name is Paul Anderson." Booth patted the man on the shoulder and walked out, Julie following him toward the other building.

They found the office in question and Booth walked in, "Paul Anderson?" The man sitting behind the desk nodded. "I'm Special Agent Booth with the FBI. This here is my coworker Agent Julie Nichols. We have a few questions for you regarding building 16."

The man turned to his computer and said, "My maintenance supervisor told me what was found. I leased that building by mail to a company out of Nebraska about eight months ago. Form said it would be an internet shipping company. No one ever moved in, but I had a bank draft authorization, and got my money every month. I really didn't question it." He finished speaking.

Booth responded to him. "The body was found in a storage closet. Supposedly, a security worker was doing a routine check. He was new and apparently didn't cut corners like you other guys." Booth paused for a second to see what he would get from the man.

Nichols took advantage of Booth's pause and spoke. "Do you know of a Phillip Watson?" She was practically shoving a paper in the manager's face.

Booth was clearly not impressed at Nichols' actions and turned to the manager. "The victim's name was Phillip Watson. Does that sound like any of the names from your correspondence about building 16?"

The man shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, I've never heard of him."

Booth then stood to leave. "Thank you for your time, we'll be in touch. Here is a flyer with a couple of pictures of the victim and some other information. If anyone recognizes him, give me a call." He handed him the flyer and his card before exiting the building.

Booth and his "non-partner" left and made their way back to the Jeffersonian in silence. Booth knew what he had to do, but he absolutely did not want to go to West Virginia, not now, not when Bones needed him, not without her.

Booth and Julie breezed passed Jeffersonian security. Booth spoke to several in passing on the way down the halls. Julie was surprised that these people could be nice to someone like Booth.

He swiped his access card and the coworkers walked onto the platform where Angela, Hodgins, and Cam were working over the body. "Morning squints," he announced.

Angela started speaking before looking up. "Morning . . . Booth, oh, oh," Angela was stunned at the attractive new non-partner with Booth. Hodgins looked equally stunned, but for a different reason. Cam also had a puzzled look on her face.

Booth decided to break the awkward mood by saying, "Alright brain trust, this is Julie Nichols. She going to be riding with me until Bones can get back in the field." That was all the explanation he provided before his cell phone rang. It was Bones.

He walked to the railing of the platform and answered the phone, unaware of the eight eyes staring at him. "Hey Bones. You okay?" He listened for a few seconds and said, "Sounds good, what's Andy up to today? I can always give you some ideas if you need it." He paused again. "Sure Bones, sure, I know Andy isn't based on me. I've never heard that before." He was grinning at that point. "Alright, take it easy, don't do anything logical and hurt yourself. I need you back in the field with me. I'll come by and bring you lunch. There was another pause, "Bones, I want to, see you at lunch." He closed his phone.

He clapped his hands together and finally realized they were staring at him. "What?," he asked.

Angela was the only one brave enough to speak. "Mr. Alpha Male, taking care of a damsel in distress – Very hot if you ask me."

Booth didn't qualify her statement and said, "Okay, Nichols and I came up empty at the warehouse. Bones says we need to look at crushing as the cause of death. Please tell me someone has something for me."

Hodgins spoke, "I'm running elemental trace on the vertebrae now, like Dr. B asked. I can't be sure yet, but it looks like some type of metal alloy on T6, T7, and T8."

Cam then interjected, "The intern found some weird fracture patterns. Is Brennan ready to work yet?" She directed the question toward Booth.

"I think so, she's up and seemed to be feeling a little better." He replied.

Angela interrupted, "Just remember, Cam, pain meds make Brennan very un-Brennan sometimes. Her brain slows down almost to a normal pace and she sticks to 2 syllable words. It's weird."

Cam nodded and Booth shot Angela a glare. Cam spoke, "I'm going to call her and go over the images of the fracture patterns. We may need you Angela."

Booth then spoke, "Okay, well unless you come up with something great, Nichols and I are going to have to go to West Virginia. It's a three hour drive, so we will probably have to stay over night." He looked at Angela who knew exactly why he said that.

Booth went on, "Nichols, let's go back to the Hoover and I'll drop you off. It's 10:00 now, go home, pack a bag. We'll leave around 1:00."

Soon they were back in the SUV. Booth had tried to decide whether he should ask Max or Angela to stay with Bones, and decided Max. He picked up his cell to call him. "Max, it's Booth." He was interrupted by a concerned father, "No, she's fine, but I need a favor. I have to go out of town tonight so I was hoping you could stay with her." He sighed as Max told him he could help. "I should be back in time to help her get to her book signing tomorrow night. Angela can pick her up for work if she's up to it. Just make sure she takes her meds tonight. She hates them." Booth listened for a moment and said, "Yeah, I know, thanks Max." He then hung up.

Nichols was tired of being ignored by someone who should be paying her attention. She decided to speak. "So are you and your "Partner," more than partners? You obviously would do anything for her."

Booth didn't hesitate. He could sense the nasty side of her. "Bones and I are close, but just partners. We've been through a lot together." He snapped and then softened a little as he thought about some of those things. "Partners share things and she's my partner and now she needs me." He thought to himself how thankful he was that Cullen had given him a temporary partner, even if he disliked her. He wouldn't be able to do it if he knew he would never work with Bones again.

With that, he parked the car and reminded her to be ready at 1:00. He didn't like waiting.

He ran up to his office, got Charlie to take care of two hotel rooms and headed back to Bones.


	12. Dishes, Trips, and Thoughts

**A/N - Thanks for all of the great reviews. This is the remainder of stuff I wrote over the weekend. I'll hopefully get something else up tomorrow afternoon. Please let me know what you think.**

Disclaimer - I am in no way associated with the television show Bones, unless being a huge fan counts as an association.

Chapter 12

Booth walked in at Brennan's apartment to find her standing, on her crutches, at the kitchen counter putting away some dishes. He immediately went into protective mode and said, "Bones, what do you think you are doing, trying to make sure you need surgery?"

Brennan was startled by his sudden entrance and thought, 'Great, I've been sitting for almost days and I get up for 15 minutes and he catches me. Plus, he usually calls.' Even though she didn't know the cultural use of the phrase, "Murphy's Law," she understood the principle.

She began to speak, her heart still racing from the sudden entrance, "Booth, I'm just putting up some dishes. A person can only be still so long. I do have other body parts that require a certain amount of movement everyday." Honestly, she was just tired of sitting, but thought her logical approach might keep his tendencies at bay.

He looked on at what she was doing. Truthfully, he was amazed at how she had figured out how to put dishes away while still using crutches. On one hand, he was surprised, but this was his Bones. She always adapted and she adapted well.

He didn't push the issue any further. He figured she needed to feel independent and as long as she wasn't putting weight on her foot, he'd let her be independent. He was hungry, so he put the take out Thai on the table and sat down. He waited for her to join him before he started eating. He was hoping she wouldn't take long.

In just a few minutes, she sat. They started eating and talked a little about the case. He again prodded about what she had been doing all morning and she went through her list of accomplishments for the day. She briefly told him about her morning and headed back to the living room. She was getting brave and sat in a chair instead of the couch. He started clearing the dishes.

She actually felt better emotionally since she had accomplished a few things that morning. She had talked with Cam for about an hour just before she started the dishes. Cam told her a little more about the fracture patterns. She knew they were some type of impression from whatever did the crushing, but couldn't be sure without seeing for herself. She had thought several times about going in to the lab and working on them. She would have gone too, if she could get into her SUV without having to stand on her left foot or if she wasn't still taking the strong pain meds. She had just conceded to the fact that she would go tomorrow, hurting or not.

She began to talk to Booth while he was still working in the kitchen. "Booth, it looks like the victim was crushed between two different objects. It looks like whatever pushed him from behind left an impression on the spinous processes of three of the thoracic vertebrae. They are small, but might give us something. I'll put them under the scanning microscopes in the lab tomorrow and see if I can get some images. Ange may be able to use them to render and image." She paused for a moment, thinking about what might have left the marks. She snapped out of her thoughts and said, "Did you find out anything this morning?"

Booth shook his head, "No, no one from the warehouse complex seems to know anything about the man." He paused because he knew the next part would upset her, okay maybe not her, but definitely him. He hated to bring it up; she seemed to be in better spirits today. She was feisty and not so sleepy, she was his Bones.

"Bones, I'm going to have to go to West Virginia today to see what I can get. I'm taking Nichols with me and we are leaving at 1:00. I won't be back until tomorrow. I will make sure and be here in time to take you to your signing." He paused so he could get a read on her face. She looked a little disappointed, so he decided to make her laugh. "You need security with you at those things. Those wack-jobs are always trying to get too close. They might get too close and you could get a paper cut." He knew she really did meet some wacky people at those signings, but they couldn't be too crazy if they thought she was wonderful. They were right about that.

Brennan was a little upset, but put on her happy face for Booth. "I'll be fine Booth, I'm not going anywhere." She knew she could manage, she had pretty much figured out how to do everything on crutches now.

"I know you will be Bones, I called Max. He's coming in a little while to help you out." He grinned at his plan.

Brennan wasn't so sure. "Booth! You shouldn't have called him. I can take care of myself. It's just a sprained ankle." She argued.

He wanted to argue back, but again decided to stay mellow. He was glad she had accepted his help thus far and didn't want to give her any reason to push him away. "Bones, just humor me. This is the last day you have to rest before you are clear to go to work. You need to rest and be ready for tomorrow. It's going to be tough being up on those crutches all day." He hoped she would simmer down a little.

She exhaled and conceded to two of the alpha males in her life. She wasn't sure she liked them conspiring against her. She said, "Fine Booth, just next time, let me call him."

He grinned, satisfied that his strategy had worked. "Okay Bones." He sat in the chair beside her. "How's the ankle today? Swelling going down at all?"

She had already picked her laptop back up and was looking intently at something. She answered him clinically without looking up. "The pain meds are keeping the shooting pains at bay. It still hurts though. As for the swelling, I don't think it has increased, but I can tell it's still not going down."

Booth was worried about her. It had been four days. She should start to see some improvement soon.

He finished straightening a few things and headed back to the guest room. He changed the sheets and made the bed for Max. She didn't question what he was doing, just kept clicking around on her laptop, oblivious to the world around her.

After a few minutes, he came back into the living room, handed her an ice pack, and looked at his watch. It was 12:30. He needed to go. He was glad he kept a packed bag in his office for when he had to leave suddenly.

She was still staring at the screen when he came over beside her and said, "Bye Bones, I'll call you tonight. Take it easy, no more dishes." He then started restocking the coffee table for her. He glanced at her pill bottles. It still looked like she was being compliant and taking the meds.

She barely noticed him working around her. She came to a stopping point in her reading and looked up at him. "Be careful Booth," That was her only remark.

Booth was content that she would be fine so he left. He was a little downhearted at leaving her, but knew he had to go. He hated going without her. He wasn't sure which the biggest truth was, he needed her or she needed him.

After the door shut, Brennan let her head fall back to the back of the chair she was sitting on. She hated to admit it, even to herself, but she was sad. She had come to trust Booth completely, something she had never been able to do before. She wasn't sure how to describe the feelings she was trying to deal with, but when he was there, she felt contentment. Even though he would only be gone for one day, that feeling was gone now. She hated the feeling she had now-alone.

Her thoughts were all over the place. She thought about Angela and how she was constantly trying to get them together and how her relationship with Hodgins had just failed . She thought about Booth. He was a great father, soldier, agent, and friend. Then she thought about their partnership and how right now, someone else was sitting in her spot in the SUV. She was a little angry, but knew that it had to happen. Booth couldn't go it alone just so she could keep her spot.

After a couple of minutes, Brennan was done sulking and resolved herself to get back to her computer. She had just started researching in medical journals about her injury. She wanted to be ready for her appointment on Friday. She needed to know the options for recovery regardless if she did or didn't need surgery. At this point though, she felt that surgical repair would be the only real option to get her back it the field.


	13. More Than Partners?

**A/N - As always, let me know what you think about the plot, characters, etc.  I aim to please.**

Disclaimer - I don't own Bones or any of the characters.

Chapter 13

Booth hated leaving Brennan. He knew she would be fine, but frankly, he liked helping her out and was afraid that without him there, she would do too much. He wasn't quite sure when he had begun to enjoy working with her, probably sometime during the Charlie Sanders case. That case was the first time he saw who she actually was as a person and more importantly how she had come to trust him. He recalled her saying, "I knew you wouldn't make me a liar Booth." That phrase carried a long way with him.

He quickly made his way back to the Hoover to pick up Nichols and head to West Virginia. He dreaded the trip; it would be long and lonely. He also hoped that Nichols had an IPOD and wouldn't feel like she needed to talk to him the entire way.

Back at the lab, Angela was working on the inputting all of the angles for the fractures into the Angelator. She didn't know what she could use it for, or if it would be needed, but she figured it couldn't hurt. Jack soon walked in to her office, once a very familiar place, now he only entered when needed.

"Hey," he said at the door and she looked up. "I finished the elemental trace. The residue on the vertebrae was an alloy similar to chrome. It also had a polymer coating on it which is just weird. I don't see how it could be used to crush someone I thought knowing the materials might help you with your reconstruction." He finished.

"Thanks Jack," she said and then became a little more devious. "Did you check out the new girl riding with Booth?"

Before thinking, Hodgins answered, "Yeah and she was totally hot. She's totally Booth's type too." He said the last statement with a grin on his face.

Angela was disturbed, "Jack—No she's not."

He moved closer to her without realizing it and spoke, "Oh come on Ange, she is the mirror image of Tessa and Rebecca - blond, thin, beautiful. You don't think he'll see it that way?"

Angela just shook her head, "No, I don't. Booth is totally into Brennan even if they are both too blind to see it. Haven't you noticed that he hasn't even dated since he broke it off with Cam? A hot guy like Booth should have a date every night, but he chooses not to. Instead, he spends every evening working on "paperwork" with Bren. He's so in love with her, it's just her head gets in the way of seeing it."

Hodgins decided to call Angela on her efforts, "Don't you think you've spent enough hours trying to hook them up?"

"Nope, and I won't stop until they are together in a real relationship." Angela smiled and Hodgins just shook his head and stood to leave.

As he did, Angela thought about her words and the fact that she hadn't dated anyone since she and Hodgins broke up. Was she doing the same thing as Booth—could she ever be satisfied with someone other than Hodgins? She wasn't sure.

Booth and Nichols had sat in silence for the first hour and a half of the trip. It was now 2:30 and Booth wanted to get to Watson's workplace before 4:00. He knew they wouldn't have a lot of time since the workday would be over at 5:00. He decided he needed to talk to Nichols and develop a plan to speak with the most people in the least amount of time.

"Nichols, you good with interviewing Watson's former secretary while I talk to his boss?" She was slightly surprised at the offer.

"Sure, how do you and 'Bones' normally split up the work?" She asked.

Booth was a little angry and realized he had never told Nichols his partner's real name. "First off, her name is Dr. Brennan to everyone but me. Second, Bones and I usually do all of our interviews together, it's what we do. She's not FBI, so we do things a little differently."

Nichols paused for a moment; she hadn't really given Booth's partner much thought until now. "Wait, is your partner _Dr. Temperance Brennan_, the writer? I heard she was working with the FBI as a contractor."

Booth was proud at the mention. "Yes, we've been working together for over 3 years. We work together well and have a 98 percent close rate."

Nichols was impressed, but was sure that Booth would have a rate that high regardless of who he worked with. How could he not?

"Well, that is impressive. How long is she going to be out for anyway?" Nichols really didn't care, but decided that if she wanted to get any where near her hot partner, she needed to make him think she was concerned.

Booth hated that question and wasn't sure if Nichols was genuine or not, but he answered. "Probably at least 4-6 months. It'll be longer if she needs surgery. She goes back to the doctor on Friday and will know more then. Bones is tough, so she'll be fine."

Nichols thought to herself, 'A lot can change in 6 months. I want to be a great FBI Agent and to get there quickly, I need a good partner like him.' She wouldn't dream of saying that to him. She opted on saying, "Well let me know if there's anything I can do. I'm sure she'll be able to help us some from time to time."

Booth just shook his head at her miserable attempt to be sensitive. He just looked at Nichols and then back at the road. He instinctively stepped a little harder on the gas pedal. They couldn't be in West Virginia soon enough.

After another hour and fifteen minutes, they finally arrived at the Randolph County Building Inspector's office and went inside. They stopped at the desk and got names and office locations of the boss and secretary. Booth went to see the boss, Shane Allen, and Nichols went to see Shirley Bolling, Watson's former secretary.

Booth worked fast and had the owner and location of the building site Watson was supposed to inspect in hand. He had no real reason to suspect any coworkers yet. He silently hoped the murder would be linked to the building site. He went back into the lobby to wait on Nichols who seemed to be gone for too long. He was growing impatient when she finally walked back through the door.

He asked her a blunt question. "Did you get some good information?" He was afraid the only info she would glean would be worthless like his home address or something. He could get all of that from the FBI.

She smiled, "Apparently, Watson was having an affair with a local accountant. She was married to another inspector. They divorced after the affair became public knowledge. She still lives in town, but the husband moved shortly after the divorce. Also, his secretary says that Watson was a stickler for rules. None of the local builders wanted him at their sites. He would always leave a long list of changes to be made."

Booth was surprised; he didn't expect her to come back with anything of value. Maybe he should be a little nicer to her.

"Well, I've got the name of the location supervisor he was supposed to visit before he went missing. Let's head over there while it's still daylight. Workers should still be there."

In just a few minutes, they pulled up at the very ornate office complex. It looked almost complete. There were still lots of workers scurrying from place to place, not paying them any attention. Booth was finally able to get one of them to look his way. "Hey buddy, can you tell me where to find," he looked at his notebook, "Mitchell Groves. I have a few questions for him."

The man answered. "Sure, he's up on the third floor talking with the elevator company representative. You had better catch him soon, though. He usually bolts at 6:00."

Booth started walking, leaving Nichols to say thanks.

They found Groves just as expected on the third floor, arguing with the elevator guy. Booth flashed his badge and the elevator rep looked relieved that someone was going to experience the wrath of this guy. Groves spoke, "I already told you guys that all of our employees have the appropriate paperwork on file at the corporate headquarters. I just give the instructions everyday, I don't do the hiring."

Nichols laughed and wondered if people always denied doing illegal things when the FBI showed up. Booth spoke, "I have no idea what you are talking about, but I'm here regarding Phillip Watson."

Groves rolled his eyes, "Please tell me that straight nosed punk is not going back to work with the city. He used to roll in here and leave a list of things to change. I'm not even sure he knew how to drive a nail."

Booth spoke, "Actually, he's dead, but I'll bet you aren't too upset about that." He then paused to gauge the reaction of Groves.

Groves didn't wait long and spoke up, "Man, we all hated to see him come around, but no one wanted him dead." At he said that statement, Groves turned to walk down the stairs. It was approaching 6:00 pm.

Booth stopped him as he was about to get in his huge Ford F-450. "Alright Groves, I see you are ready to go, but can you tell me where you were on February 8, the day Watson disappeared."

Groves quickly answered, I've been here everyday for the last year. If you need it, I could pull work orders and show you exactly what I was doing that day."

Booth just shook his head and deferred to Nichols. She spoke, "No, but don't go anywhere, we might need to ask you further questions."

"I'm not going anywhere, we have to get this building move in ready by the end of the month or we forfeit the bonus." With that, the non-partners watched Groves drive off in his huge truck.

Nichols looked at Booth who seemed to be thinking. She broke the silence and asked, "What now?"

Booth decided not to be sarcastic and answered her. "We go find his former mistress and see what she can offer us."

For the next few hours, they did just that, interviewed her, and even got the phone number of her ex husband. Booth called him while he left Nichols to talk with the wife.

After several minutes, Booth came back over, thanked her for her time, and motioned for Nichols to leave.

As they walked back to the car, Booth updated her on what he found out. "I think the ex-husband is clean. He was more concentrated on talking about missing his wife than talking about what Watson did to his family. The wife didn't really seem to have motive either." Nichols nodded her head in agreement.

Booth continued, "I'm going to get a subpoena for all of Groves' financial records. If we can find some kind of link to that warehouse, we could take him in for interrogation."

Nichols and Booth headed back to the hotel to check in. Booth recalled the several times he and Bones had gone on assignment. A couple of times, they stayed at different hotels, but there were a few times that they had to share a room. In Vegas, they did it to look like a couple, but they had also shared in Virginia one time when they were out way to late and both were exhausted. The hotel only had one room available. He silently prayed that Charlie had gotten the reservations right this time.  He couldn't share with Nichols, but he was getting the idea that she might not protest.

They checked in, thankfully in separate rooms. Nichols asked Booth what he would be doing. "I think I'm going to just go back to the room and order some take out. It's almost 9:00. I need to make a few phone calls and map out a plan for us for tomorrow. I need to be back in DC by 4:00 at the latest. If you need to go somewhere, I can give you my keys."

She nodded, slightly disappointed that they wouldn't be going to a bar, but she would make sure she had a good time herself.

Booth handed her his keys and went upstairs. He dialed Bones. "Hey Bones, how's it going?" He paused as she answered. "Is your dad there?" pause again. "Good, I know Max will take care of you." He paused again and grinned. 'She always says she can take care of herself.' "You going to be ready to go back to work tomorrow?" He already knew the answer to that question. "Listen Bones, just be careful. Walking on crutches can wreak havoc on your body if you aren't used to it. Remember what Jameson said about the swelling and pain. If it hurts, take a break."

On the other end of the line, Brennan just rolled her eyes. True, she had never really been on crutches before, but she would be fine. She was just ready to get back to work.

"So, Booth, what did you find out today about the case?" She listened as he explained all of his findings and told her he suspected the construction supervisor. She finished up by telling him about the work she would do in the morning in the lab. Hopefully she could get him something before he headed back to DC.

With that, Booth told Brennan good night and they both hung up.

Brennan headed to the couch. She had actually done a lot of work today. She finished the dishes, did a load of laundry, and made a list of questions for Jameson on Friday. She was pretty achy and tired and ready for bed. She was amazed at how draining this injury was, you wouldn't think an ankle would impact a whole body.

Her dad was sitting in the recliner watching the game as she climbed onto the couch. He got up and started to work on Booth's instructions.

He spoke as he puttered in the kitchen, "Temperance, do you need anything?" He asked the question as he handed her an ice pack and her medicine.

She rolled her eyes, knowing that Booth had told him what to do. "No Dad, I'm just pretty tired. The meds will probably knock me out, so feel free to finish the game. Good night Dad." With that, she settled onto the couch and quickly fell asleep.

Max finished watching the baseball game and then headed to bed. He stopped at the couch and kissed his daughter on the head. He silently grieved for all the days he had missed doing that. He didn't regret his decision to protect her; he regretted that his decision required leaving her. He thought to himself, 'Thank God she found Booth. When will she ever realize that she is meant for him?'

Three hours away, Booth was still puttering around in his hotel room. He had called Charlie to take care of getting the financials and called Parker to say good night. He hated being there. He was lying on the bed with the TV on when he realized that sleep wouldn't come. It had only taken him four nights of staying at Bones' place to realize how much he was missing when he wasn't with her. He didn't know what his feelings for her were, but they were no longer just partners.

A few hours later, the buzz of the pain meds had worn off for Brennan and she was lying awake on her couch. She couldn't get back to sleep and didn't know why. It couldn't be because she missed Booth, could it? She then realized how much she had grown to enjoy his presence. He was protective yet nurturing. He had only stayed at her place for four nights, but it seemed like he belonged. She missed him; they were no longer just partners, she didn't know what they were.


	14. Accidental Admission

**A/N - As always, thank you for the reviews and let me know what you think.  I am trying to build a simple but solid case, so the story isn't too fluffy. Let me know if it stinks.**

Disclaimer - Bones belongs to Fox.

Chapter 14

Booth sat in the hotel lobby at 7:00 eating coffee and doughnuts. If he had to guess, she went out last night and got waxed. He thought for a moment, 'It's a common mistake for newbies.' His only hope, 'She better not have hurt the SUV. I just got that new one.'

After a few minutes, the elevator doors open and out popped a hung over looking Nichols. "Have a great night?" He asked.

Nichols answered in the most chipper voice she could, "Sure, how about you?"

Booth decided that he didn't want her in his personal life at all, so he answered plainly, "Boring but nice." In truth, his night had been horrible. He only slept off and on; he just couldn't get to sleep. His mind was on Bones and how he missed her. He worried that she was hurting or that she was doing too much. His mind also drifted to all of the years she spent alone. 'I don't ever want her to be alone again.'

Booth decided he needed to get focused and said, "Let's get going, we have a lot of ground to cover in the next couple of hours. We need to leave around lunch and I REALLY don't want to have to come back here." 

As they walked to the parking lot, Booth gave the SUV the once-over.  It looked fine, thank goodness.

On the way to the local police station, Booth's cell phone rang. It was Charlie. "Booth, we found an unexplained account tied to Groves, but our warrant doesn't cover it." Booth rolled his eyes. "You are going to have to come up with something else so that we can pull that account." Booth told Charlie thanks and hung up.

"Alright Nichols, I am almost certain that this Groves' guy is connected, but we have to play it cool." Booth continued, "I don't want to spook him. He's comfortable right now, let's keep it that way."

As Booth pulled up, his cell rang again. This time it was Bones. He flipped it open and said, "Hey Bones, hang on just a second." He directed his speech toward Nichols. "Go inside and ask the locals to show you any and all evidence they collected on the Watson case." He watched her start inside and then turned his attention to what was important.

"Hey Bones, sorry, just trying to get everything taken care of in the short amount of time I have." He listened as she spoke. _"Booth, you know you don't have to come back this afternoon if you aren't ready. The case is important." _He smiled and responded, "I know Bones, but I want to, and besides, this place isn't much fun." He changed the subject. "How are you this morning? Any better?" He smiled as she explained that she was feeling good. Angela had picked her up at 7:00 and she was about to go start on the platform. He knew that she was glad to be at work and he was glad she was at least feeling a little better.

"Good Bones, remember, keep an eye on the swelling and sit down when you can. Angela knows to call me if you do too much. No weight on your foot." He was pleased with his short list of orders and smiled as she chastised him. "Bye Bones, call me if you get anything." He hung up the phone.

He walked inside and joined Nichols who was now holding a file box. He decided that his chivalry should be extended to her, so he reached out, took the box, and carried it to his SUV. They opened the back and examined the contents. There were several notebooks that looked like they had gotten wet in the lake with Watson's car. "I'll get these to the Jeffersonian, maybe Angela can pull the text from them."

Nichols looked stunned, "But they're ruined. There is no way to get that stuff back." She couldn't believe he would think they could do things like that.

He replied, "Maybe so, but I've seen Angela recreate tattoos from single pieces of skin and faces off of pieces of cloth. Don't doubt what those squints can do." He was proud that they were his squints.

"Alright Booth, but I won't believe it until I see it. Where to now?" She asked as they drove.

His answer was simple, "Back to the construction site. I want to hang out for a while, see if I can make Groves sweat."

They pulled up to the construction site. Nichols automatically went to the trailer used as an office and began to ask for work orders and logs. Booth went to interview a few of the employees. As he did, he noticed that Groves didn't really let him out of his site. Booth knew that this guy was dirty, just how dirty was the question.

After a couple of hours, Booth and Nichols had all of the documentation they needed and were preparing to go back to DC. Booth hated that it wasn't solved yet, but maybe he could take care of the rest of the investigation from the Hoover. It certainly wasn't required that he arrest every single suspect himself. He could send someone else to do that.

As Booth and Nichols were loading up to leave, he noticed Groves getting back in his super-duty truck. Nichols made an off-handed remark, "To be pretty successful, he sure does have that thing pimped out." With that comment, they started the long trip back to DC.

Brennan had done her best to manage all morning, but quickly learned that it was going to be a long day. She hadn't spent that much time in a vertical position since Friday, four full days before. Her leg, not just her, ankle was hurting. She knew it was because the blood finally had the opportunity to reach the injury site. On top of that, her arms were killing her. 'Booth was right, these crutches are getting the best of me,' she thought. Part of her wanted to go back home and curl up after taking enough meds to make her sleep for days, but she wouldn't do it, she wouldn't let her injury get in her way. She could handle this.

Despite her pain, she worked like crazy, making up for the days she lost. She had already studied the bones of Watson in the bone room and was now looking at his vertebrae under the scanning electron microscope. The intern was right, there were some weird indentations scattered oddly on the spinous processes of the bones. She took several pictures and walked back to Angela's office.

"Sweetie, you could have called me and I would have walked and picked those up. You are going to kill yourself on those crutches." Angela was truly concerned for her friend. She looked like she didn't sleep well the night before.

Brennan sat down for the first time in a couple of hours and sighed. "I know Ange, but I have to get used to this. I'll be using them for a while. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal, but my biceps and triceps are killing me and my latissimus dorsi muscles are beginning to ache."

Angela smiled, though not at her friend's pain, "Um, glad to see you are off the narcotics, you just used 4 and 5 syllable words. Seriously, though Bren, if you are hurting, I can take you home. You have that book signing tonight and Booth will fly off the handle if you are in worse shape when he gets back." Angela knew her argument would not find fertile ground in her friend's mind.

"I'll be fine Angela. It's not too bad." Brennan stood to go back to work but her friend stopped her.

"Bren, just sit down for a few minutes while this image renders. I could use a break too." She walked over to her small refrigerator and grabbed a couple of bottled waters offering one to her friend.

"Thanks Ange." Brennan was starting to get comfortable, she knew she couldn't stay there long, she might run the risk of staying there the rest of the day.

Angela sat back beside her and started talking. "So, how's it been with Booth staying at your place? I know he's enjoying it."

Brennan rolled her eyes, "Please don't start Angela. I'm really not in the mood to hear about how Booth is perfect for me and I should just pay attention to my feelings."

Angela realized her friend's mistake, 'she must really be tired.' "Bren, when did I ever say you had feelings for Booth?"

'Crap,' thought Brennan. 'I didn't mean to say that. I don't know if I can get out of this one.'

Angela interrupted her thoughts. "Spill it Brennan, I know you see it, so just tell me."

Brennan knew if she didn't explain, she would never hear the end of it. "Okay, fine. I don't know if I have feelings or not, but when he left yesterday, it was hard. I am content when he is around and I enjoy it when it just sits with me. He is very kind, but still allows me to be who I am. He saw me putting up dishes yesterday and once he realized I was still using crutches, he didn't argue with me. He doesn't expect me to change the way I think. I don't know that I have ever met a man like him."

She then continued by telling her about Booth rubbing her calf during the movie and letting her cry in his chest at the doctor. She finished by saying, "The problem, Ange, is that we are partners, and I don't know that I would risk being split up just to see if a relationship would work."

Angela was speechless for the first time in years. He friend had 'spilled it' alright. She wanted to scream, cry, and call Booth all at the same time. 'Be cool Angela,' she told herself.

She pulled her friend into a hug and said, "Brennan, when you find something good, you have to pursue it. If you are this happy with him helping you as a friend, imagine what it would be like to actually be in a relationship with him."

Brennan wiped a stray tear from her eye and spoke, "I know, Ange, but please keep this between us. I have to make sure that I keep Booth as a partner before I can risk a relationship. I don't do well with relationships, you know that."

Angela stood in awe, she was so surprised that her friend had opened up to her and she wasn't even on narcotics. This was big.

"I promise Bren, but promise me, you won't let your mind get in the way of your heart with this one." She pleaded.

Brennan was getting her crutches to leave and said, "I promise I'll try Ange. That's the best I can do."

As Brennan walked back toward the platform, her cell rang, it was Booth. She couldn't answer it as she was, so she stopped and lightly put her left foot down on the ground to free up her hands and pulled her cell out. When she did, a pain shot through her body. She quickly put her weight back on her crutches and answered, slightly winded. "Brennan," she said.

Booth obviously picked up on her rapid breathing and asked about it, she assured him, "I'm fine Booth, just had to get my phone from out of my reach. I'm okay." That wasn't a lie; technically, it was out of her reach. "Okay, great, Angela is rendering my images now. We should have something when you get back." She paused as he spoke and then finished her conversation. "See you in a couple of hours Booth."

She closed her phone and sat for a minute to regain her composure. She had already tentatively decided that she was going to need surgery, but that last pain was enough to decide it for her. If her body was healing on its own, the swelling would be decreasing and the pain diminishing. It hadn't at all and was probably increasing now that she was moving around more. She prepared herself for her appointment the day after tomorrow. She knew she would be told she was out of the field for 8 months. She knew she would get through it though, she was tough, and always got through.


	15. Signings and Massages

**A/N - Sorry I didn't update yesterday. Between t-ball, ice skating, and coaching a academic team, there wasn't enough time in the day to finish the half chapter I had complete. I MIGHT get another one on tonight. We'll see. At any rate, I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think.**

Disclaimer - Bones belongs to Fox.

Chapter 15

Booth and Nichols made their way back to DC. Booth hated to admit it, but she had actually been helpful. As much as he disliked her, he could accept her help on the case. He knew however, that the case would probably already be closed if Bones had been able to be in West Virginia with him. She just saw things that no one else noticed.

Booth realized a few miles down the road that he was hungry. "Nichols, you want to stop and get something to eat in a few minutes? It will be a while before we come into civilization again after we pass this town."

She looked at him, surprised at the offer. "Sure, Booth, whatever you want to do is fine with me." Inside, she was excited that she was finally getting some attention from him. He was definitely her type and she figured they would eventually go on a date, or 20.

They stopped at a diner and ran in to eat. They ordered and out of habit, Booth ordered a hamburger and fries. He couldn't help but notice that Nichols ordered the same. 'Bones never orders fries.' He had to smile at the thought of her stealing his fries. They were making basic conversation while they ate. Nichols asked a lot of questions about the way the FBI did things and how partnerships worked. She strategically refrained from asking questions about Dr. Brennan. She needed to keep Booth happy.

They finished their meals and got ready to leave. Booth thought for a few minutes about trying their pie, but decided that he wasn't in a pie kind of mood.

After two more hours in the car it was about 3:00 and Booth pulled up in front of the Jeffersonian. He hopped out of the SUV and Nichols followed suit. She was slightly excited to finally meet this 'Bones.' She wanted to see this person who had Booth wrapped around her finger.

Once inside the lab, Booth had one mission in mind, finding Bones. As he expected, she was on the platform staring into a microscope. She didn't flinch when he swiped his card and approached her from behind. He placed his hand on her shoulder and she jumped, wincing at the sudden movement. She wasn't one to be jumpy, especially when she was working. Most of the time, she hardly moved when he did the same thing.

"Easy there Bones, didn't mean to make you jump." He was happy to see her, but a little startled; she looked really tired. She had obviously been going non-stop to make up for the days she missed.

"It's okay Booth, I'm just trying to concentrate and finish with these Bones." She turned back to the microscope and asked, "How did the investigation go this morning?"

"We are basically at a stand still until we can get a new lead and be able to pull the other financials of Groves. I'm pretty sure he did it, but I need a smoking gun." Brennan just nodded and kept working.

A few minutes later, Nichols started to walk onto the platform, setting off the alarm. The security guard deactivated it and gave her a look. She didn't pay him much attention. What would be important enough that they would need an alarm on that thing anyway?

She approached and stood really close to Booth who was just watching Brennan work. She had not even budged as the alarm went off. He liked to watch her work. She was in a world all by herself.

Finally, Booth decided to make the introduction. "Bones, this is Julie Nichols, she's the agent Cullen has working with me until you can come back." He hated saying that.

Brennan turned around and reached out so she could shake her hand. She felt a little rude for not standing, but thought it was probably not worth the effort. She studied Nichols briefly, she immediately knew that she was Booth's type. She could see him dating her.

Brennan resolved herself to go back to work and turned back to the microscope. Booth ran out to the SUV and came back in with the evidence box from Randolph County. They needed to dig through it to see what they could get.

After a few minutes, Angela walked briskly toward the platform. She plopped on a chair and called Booth over. Nichols didn't leave his side and Brennan slowly made her way over too. She was really starting to get tired. She still had a long way to go for the day though.

Booth noticed that Brennan was making her way over and quickly stepped back and put his hand at its home at the small of her back. It was a little more complicated to keep it there as she walked on her crutches, but he figured it out.

Sometimes, Brennan would pull back from Booth's hand, but not today. Today, she would accept it and was even thankful for it.

Nichols looked on with wonder, she didn't understand their relationship. Obviously, he saw something in her, but why, she was nothing like him. She was all scientific and he was sensitive. Her looks also made her wonder, she wasn't the typical beauty, but there was something about her, an heir or something. It was almost as if her eyes could see right through you, maybe even down to your Bones. She could see that she was going to be the hurdle she had to jump to get to Booth.

Angela started talking, "Okay, so I ran the images Brennan gave me through a completion program. The markings on the bones were scattered and incomplete. I used the program to identify different markings and I made the assumption that whatever left the marks was a repeating pattern. I also used the information Hodgins gave me and assumed that the object was a thin, chrome plate." She was clicking on the computer. "Finally, I came up with this." At her last statement, she pulled up a picture of a rectangular plate with small rivots in it. "There were also a couple of larger markings that I couldn't complete. I would think it would be some type of symbol on the plate, but I couldn't get any further with it."

Booth immediately drew the connection and hoped this was his smoking gun. "I've got to call Caroline, I need a warrant to get Groves' truck brought here." Brennan looked a little confused and followed, on her crutches, after Booth. He must have heard the clicking of her crutches as she came off the platform and stopped.

"Booth, what did you figure out?" She hated being out of the loop.

Booth realized that she had not been with him to know what he noticed. "Sorry Bones, It's just that Groves has a pimped out truck. On the front grill, there is a metal looking plate with a college logo on it."

She thought for a second, "That has to be what happened, do you have the blue prints of the construction site that Watson was supposed to visit?" She was in her 'working scientist mode.'

"Yeah, sure, they're on the platform in the box that I just brought in. Why?" He knew she was on to something because she didn't answer, just walked up to the platform went back to work. He could see her struggling to do the things she normally did; he hated that for her.

He prepared himself to beg as he dialed. He waited a moment and said, "Caroline, it's Booth." He waited for her response. _"I hope this call is to tell me you've wrapped up the warehouse murder. I already got all the financials for you, Cher."_ Booth sighed and explained, "It is about the murder, but I need something else. I need a warrant for a truck to be brought to the Jeffersonian from West Virginia. We think it might be the murder weapon, or part of it anyway." Booth's face twitched as Caroline got a little defensive. "_Don't you think it would be easier for you to go to the truck? I'm sure your genius partner could figure it out." _Booth figured that was coming. "I know Caroline, but Bones is not going in the field right now." Before he could finish, Caroline was flying off the handle. "_What on God's green earth was Cullen thinking, your partnership is the best thing he ever did. Please tell me she didn't shoot someone. My ex would defend her, but she's got to learn to keep her finger off that trigger."_

Booth laughed, people always assumed that any time there was a problem, Bones had shot someone. 'She really isn't that trigger happy,' he thought.

Booth broke into Caroline's rant to clarify. "No, Caroline, Bones just hurt her ankle on Friday at karate. She's out for 4-6 months, maybe more. She's on crutches right now. I've got a green working with me until she can come back."

"_I told her in New Orleans that all of those martial arts classes weren't good for a person. She never listens." _Caroline quipped. "I know Caroline, but the warrant?" He was pleading. "_I'll see what I can do, but it's not going to be that simple. A whole truck is asking for a lot."_ Booth sighed in relief that she would try, thanked her, and closed his phone.

He walked back to the platform and found Brennan looking at the blueprints while leaning heavily on one of the tables. Angela and Nichols were talking. 'This can't be good,' he thought. He walked over to his Bones, and said, "What are you thinking Bones?" He knew that she was working to solve the crime in her mind.

"I'm not really sure, but it looks like he might have been pushed from behind into the loading bay of the new building. The front plate on the grill of the truck was protruding enough to make the marks and fracture the vertebrae. I can't tell until I look at the truck and the plate." Brennan explained her thoughts. She knew that if she could just look at the truck right now, they could arrest this guy. Deep down, she knew that they didn't have a warrant and she wouldn't be able to look at it yet anyway, but she also knew she couldn't see it on site even if they did have a warrant. She felt unusable and it was starting to get to her.

"We'll just have to wait on Caroline and a warrant to bring in the truck. In the meantime, can you have Angela run the scenario on the Angelator? I also need her to look at the notebooks the locals had in evidence. Maybe it will give us something." Booth sensed Brennan's frustration and decided to offer a little encouragement. "We'll get him, Bones. It's just a matter of time."

With that, a still observing Nichols spoke. "Booth, you and I could head back and be there when that attorney gets the warrant. We wouldn't have to trust someone else to bring the truck in."

Booth wasn't happy with her remark. He needed to be, had to be, in DC right now. He chose to ignore the statement and instead spoke to Bones. "Bones, what time do you need to leave for your signing?"

Brennan sighed, it was now 4:30 and she was exhausted already, but wouldn't / couldn't stop. She usually worked until well into the night, 4:30 was still early. "I'm supposed to be at the book store at 6:30. I need to go get ready soon." Brennan dreaded that part. She was wearing comfortable clothes - cargo khakis, tennis shoes, and a casual shirt. She had brought a skirt suit to wear. She had to look more professional for the signing, but knew she would have trouble with the crutches in those clothes. At least she couldn't fit a shoe over the soft cast so she didn't have to consider heels.

Booth knew she was pushing herself, he could see it in her movements and eyes, but he didn't mention it. 'I wonder if I can get her to eat,' he thought to himself. "Alright Bones, do you want to go get something to eat on the way? I haven't eaten at the diner in 2 days. I may be in pie withdrawals." He knew if he shifted the focus from her eating to himself, he would be more likely to get her out of the lab.

"Sure, Booth, I'm going to go get ready now." She turned off her microscope and headed to her office.

She quickly shed her lab coat and changed clothes. She reached for her purse, pulled out one of the anti inflammatory meds she was supposed to take, and quickly swallowed it. It wouldn't take the pain away, but it might help a little with the aches she now had from standing on crutches for nine hours.

After changing her necklace and earrings, she exited her office to find Booth. He was standing outside her office talking with Nichols. He saw her and stepped away from his non-partner and grabbed his real partner's bag. "You ready?" He asked.

Brennan wanted to say no, she wasn't ready to go to the book signing, but she didn't. "Yes, I'll tell Angela bye on the way out."

Booth nodded and ran for the door. "I'll pull the car up." That was all he said.

Brennan headed toward Angela's office leaving a slightly disturbed Nichols standing there. She was thinking, 'I'm glad I had that little talk with Angela on the platform. That pair is really tight. I have some work to do if I want to stay partners with Booth.'

Booth and Brennan quickly went to the diner and ate. Booth was satisfied with his huge piece of cherry pie after he finished his man's meal of steak and potatoes. Brennan picked at her salad. Her picking concerned Booth and he had to comment. "You doing alright Bones? The rabbit food usually doesn't stay on your plate that long."

Brennan sighed before she spoke, "I'm fine Booth, just really tired and my arms hurt from the crutches. It's probably normal and will subside as I get used to them." She did her best to give him the assurance he needed not to worry.

He nodded. "Maybe you won't have to be on them that long, Bones. Hopefully you will get good news on Friday." He smiled to try to reassure her.

"Booth, I'm pretty sure that surgery is the only way to fix this. I'm not seeing any improvement in swelling or pain which means I'm not healing adequately." She was being clinical with her words.

He simply nodded, a little disappointed, and finished up before standing to leave. He dropped a few bills on the table and then guided 'his Bones' out the door to the SUV.

The book signing was uneventful. Her publisher had arranged for her to enter through the back and they were able to get inside and to the table without much attention. Her publisher, Anita, had clucked over her ankle and how tired she looked. She instructed Brennan to put on a little more makeup just before the fans arrived.

At the end of the book signing, Brennan was beyond exhausted and Booth noticed. Her back ached and arms hurt. She just wanted to go home, crawl onto the couch, and pass out. She knew she needed to get some sleep before going back to the lab in the morning or it would be another long day.

Booth drove her home, carried in her things, and straightened a few things as she changed clothes. As she emerged from the bedroom, he noticed her plop down on the couch and begin to rub one of her shoulders. He knew she was hurting, he could already tell.

He decided that since his bravery had worked so far, he would try it again. "Bones, don't lay down yet."

She looked a little puzzled, but complied. In just a couple of minutes, he came over, put an ice pack on her foot, handed her both of her meds, and sat behind her. After he watched her swallow the pills, he slowly began to massage her neck, back, and shoulders.

Honestly, she surprised herself by allowing Booth to touch her in that way. She usually wasn't so willing, but it felt good and she liked his touch. Her thoughts began to wander as she relaxed more and more.

In a few minutes, the soft sounds she had been making stopped and Booth realized she had fallen asleep, still partially sitting up. He was a little surprised she had allowed him to massage her, but hopefully she felt a little better. He had enjoyed touching her. It felt right. He slowly removed himself from behind her and lowered her down to lying. She was dead to the world and didn't stir.

He covered her with a blanket and swept a few stray hairs from her face. Finally, he placed a light kiss on her check, he couldn't resist. "Good night Bones," he said as he turned of the lights and returned to the guest room. He felt at home again.


	16. Pay Dirt

**A/N - As always, let me know what you think. This chapter is full of some filler to get us from A to B. Hopefully you will still enjoy it. Next chapter will be Brennan's next appointment. I should get it up tomorrow evening.**

Disclaimer - I am not connected with the TV show Bones.

Chapter 16

The night was restful for both Brennan and Booth. In the morning, Booth woke first, got ready, and went into the kitchen to start coffee, hoping that Brennan would wake at the smell instead of him having to wake her. After a few minutes, she started to stir.

"What time is it?" Were the first words out of her mouth.

Booth just smiled, knowing she wouldn't be happy at how long she had slept. "It's almost 8:00. Are you feeling better?" He figured she would still be sore, but was hopeful she could at least move.

Brennan rose up off the couch, almost as if she was taking inventory of her body and spoke, "I'll be alright, I need to get to work. I'm already going to miss at least half a day tomorrow. I can't be off that much." She was already on her way to her bedroom as she finished.

Booth just shook his head at her determination and started to make some muffins for the two of them. About 10 minutes later, his cell rang. Instinctively, he flipped it open and answered, "Booth."

His phone conversation began. "Hey Caroline," he paused as she spoke. "No, I already gave you everything I have. I know it's this guy, I just have to get that truck to get the smoking gun." He paused again. Obviously, the judge had denied the warrant. "Listen, I've got Angela looking at some notebooks maybe she can pull something that will incriminate Groves and we can get the warrant."

Caroline spoke again and Booth listened until she stopped. "No, I'm not planning on going back yet, not ever if I can avoid it. Anyway, Bones has another appointment with her orthopedic tomorrow and I'm going to take her." He waited while she asked yet another question. "She doesn't really know yet, but according to her, she's going to need surgery. If that happens, she's out of the field for at least eight months, depending on how she does."

As the conversation ended, Caroline inquired about Nichols. Booth responded, "She'll probably be a good agent eventually, but if I could have Bones back in the field now, I would. She's just not the same." He paused briefly as Caroline said good bye. "Yeah, I will, thanks Caroline, I'm sure Bones will appreciate that." Booth closed his phone.

Just before 9:00, a casually dressed Brennan emerged from the bedroom. She walked over to her counter and grabbed her non-narcotic medicine and swallowed a pill. Booth wasn't sure if he should smile because she took it on her own, or cry because if she took it, she must be hurting.

As he shoved a couple of muffins in a bag for her, she was grabbing all of her bags and heading toward the door. He rolled his eyes as she was working to carry three bags. It was actually fairly amusing to watch.

"Let me help Bones, I don't want you breaking your C1 or C2. Although, I hear that it's a highly effective way to treat ankle pain." He was proud of himself for referencing the vertebrae when antagonizing his Bones. He grabbed her bags to help her out.

She responded to his remark saying, "Booth, I don't think that would be effective since breaking C1 and C2 usually results in instantaneous death." She didn't detect the sarcasm in his tone when he made the statement.

He held the door for her as he rolled his brown eyes. "Bones I was – you know what, never mind. Let's just go." With that, the pair headed to the SUV.

Booth dropped Brennan off at the lab, and they both went about doing their respective jobs for the day. He called the lab a couple of times and whoever answered each time assured him that Angela was working on the notebooks and would call as soon as she got something.

There was very little work to be done on Watson's remains, so Brennan busied herself with World War I victims. She enjoyed identifying these remains. Just like Booth, these men protected her country and deserved to be respected even after their death. 'No soldier should be in our Bone Storage Facility' she thought.

Booth was working to catch up paperwork around lunch when there was a knock at the door. He looked up and it was his non-partner. "Hey Nichols, did you get something on the case or did you need something from me?" Why else would she be coming to visit him?

Nichols stepped inside his office. "No, I was just checking to see if you wanted to grab lunch. It's kind of boring around here today anyway." She was trying to get more face time with what she now viewed as a prize, professionally and personally.

Booth was a little surprised by the offer, but frankly, didn't want to go with her. He needed to get back to the lab after he finished this paperwork. His squints were there working, why should he be at the diner eating pie? He answered, "No, thanks though. I need to go to the lab, see where they are on the paperwork, and check on Bones."

Obviously, to appeal to Booth, you had to speak highly of his "partner," so Nichols decided to work that angle. "How is Dr. Brennan anyway? She seemed uncomfortable yesterday. I wasn't sure if she was hurt or if she was just that way toward new people."

Booth still couldn't decide if her concern was genuine or forced, but he decided to answer anyway. "Bones is just very dedicated to her work. You saw her when she was working, so it might seem like she ignored you, but she didn't. She probably already sized you up and is working to form an opinion of you. She's good at doing that. To answer your first question, she's okay, she's hurting, and was exhausted last night at her apartment, but she's strong. She'll be fine."

'What?' Nichols thought to herself. Angela had told her yesterday about the emotional connection between the two, and that most people thought they were destined to be together but neither would admit to it. She also told her about how they would kill for each other and literally had done so. She didn't, however, mention that they lived together. She would need to pursue this one on her own, just not yet.

"That's good, I'm sure she will be better in no time. She didn't look like she would be in karate though. She's pretty small. She must have just started if she managed to get an injury that severe." She was trying to gauge Booth's opinion of her looks by bringing up the issue of size in the midst of the question.

Booth stood defensively at the last comment. He would have to work to keep his cool. "Bones has three black belts and could probably beat most agents to a pulp. If she had a gun, she could inflict a whole lot more damage. When she's able, I'm sure she would be glad to spar with you down in the gym." Booth looked at Nichols who now had a shocked look in her eye. 'Good,' he thought, 'how dare she imply that his Bones was weak.'

Nichols decided it was time to leave, so she walked back to the door of his office. "Oh-kay—I guess since we aren't going to lunch, I'll just call you later about the case?" She asked of the experienced agent.

Booth's response was simple. "I'll call you." He was still pissed at the nerve of this girl, but he was going to let her slide, this time

Nichols left thinking. 'He is tight with that scientist. I'm not even sure that a husband would be that protective of his wife.'

Booth worked to finish up his paperwork and left for the lab around 3:00. On his way there, Angela called him to let him know that they had hit pay-dirt with the notebooks. He needed to get there. He sped up and headed to his second workplace-the lab.

Booth ran into the lab and found all four of his squints in Angela's office. He quickly noticed that Angela was the only one sitting, and he once again would be dealing with a very tired Bones. "What do we have brain trust?" He clapped his hands together as he asked.

Angela immediately answered. "So, I ran the notebooks through an infrared scanning program and was able to pick up some of the old ink traces. It looks like these were notes from visits to construction sites that Watson inspected." She paused and laughed as Booth seemed to be squinting at the screen. She went on, "Looks like this last page has a small diagram that matches the layout of the office complex Groves has been working on. There are also a few notes about brands of rebar and building codes." She looked up, she had done her job. It was now time for the others to make the connections.

Hodgins spoke up. "There are strict building codes as to the strength of the rebar used in foundations. I wonder if Groves was using something less than code and Watson was getting ready to call him on it?" Booth shot him a look of pride as he realized that the scientist had just made an 'intuitive leap.'

"Can you order samples of the rebar and rig a strength test to see if Groves really had something to worry about if Watson called him on it." Cam directed her questions toward a zealous Hodgins. Cam saw it as ordering samples; Hodgins saw it as permission to experiment.

As the team scattered to work on the various aspects of the case, Brennan headed back to the bone room to work on WWI remains. Booth followed.

"Hey Bones, how's it going today?" He asked as they walked.

Brennan answered bluntly, "Slow, tiresome, and a little boring." She knew if she was healthy, they would be beating down Groves' door in West Virginia right now.

"I know, Bones, I know." He worked to comfort her. "I know you want to be in the field, but you are still my partner. I still need you working on my cases." He knew that she didn't say it, but she was bummed out over the whole situation.

She sighed and responded, "I know Booth, and I'm just in the mood to feel sorry for myself right now. I'll be more energetic in a little while."

Booth nodded and gave her a guy hug before he left. As he walked out, he turned back around and said, "Bones, what time do you want me to pick you up to go home? The Phillies play again tonight, so I call your plasma."

She just smiled at his assumption and answered him. "Around 6:00, I'm going to try to head out early. I'm kind of tired now and it will be worse by then."

With that, Booth left the lab. He needed to update Caroline, Cullen, and Charlie on the case. He knew they couldn't get the warrant yet, but at least Caroline could have the paperwork ready for when they did get the results on the rebar.

At 6:00 sharp, Booth picked up Brennan who was already ready to go. Despite being exhausted, she had accomplished a fair amount. She identified two WWI soldiers and even worked on a paper she had been writing about using healed fractures in the identification of decomposed remains.

They went back to her apartment and ordered some take out. Brennan grabbed both of her medicines off the counter, popped the pills, and walked to the bedroom to change into comfortable clothes. Booth was again proud for her following of doctors orders, but sad that she needed the medicine.

She settled on the couch with an ice pack and worked on her book. In all of her downtime since last week, she had completed the first four chapters and was pleased with the direction of the story.

When the takeout arrived, Booth took plates into the living room and turned on the Phillies game. He was content. He was sitting on the couch watching the Phillies with his best friend, his partner, and some other classification he wasn't sure of yet.

During the 3rd inning, Brennan began to grow uncomfortable and couldn't sit still. Booth instructed her to put up the laptop and turn. He could tell her back, shoulders, and arms were killing her. They always did when you are on crutches and he had plenty of first hand experience in that department.

Just as the previous night, Booth massaged his Bones, relaxing her to the point of sleep. This time, however, when he realized she was asleep, he didn't get up. He just lowered her down until she was resting comfortably with her head on a pillow in his lap. He unconsciously played with her hair until the game wrapped up. Then, he planted another kiss on her forehead and went back to the guestroom. It was quickly becoming his home. He had only been home 5 times since she hurt herself, but he didn't care. He was content with his surroundings. This was home, not his place.


	17. The Verdict

**A/N - I wanted to go ahead and post this, but I kind of left it in the middle. I'll try to get the rest up tonight. Let me know what you think.**

Disclaimer - I don't own Bones.

Chapter 17

Upon waking on Friday morning, Brennan realized that the past two days had really taken a toll on her. She was sore all over, her ankle was killing her, and she was thankful, for the first time in her life that she didn't have to rush to work. She could hear Booth getting ready in the hall bathroom. She willed herself to get up and get moving. She slowly, but surely, made her way to her bedroom to get ready for her doctor's appointment in about two hours.

Booth emerged and realized that she had already gotten up. He went ahead folded the blankets from the couch and stacked them with the pillows. He cleaned up a couple other things and went into the kitchen to get some cereal out for breakfast. He dug through her cabinet and had to laugh at the cereal collection. 'Bones has all of the flavors of cardboard covered in there. I wonder if sugar makes it taste better.' He smiled at his thoughts as the grabbed a couple of the boxes, two bowls, and the milk.

After a few minutes, Brennan had finished getting ready and he could hear her crutches clicking down the hall. He gave her a boyish grin as she sat down in her seat. "Bones, you have to let me introduce you to cereal that contains sugar. I promise it tastes better than the cardboard in your pantry."

Brennan was in a fiery mood and quickly responded. "Booth, you know that processed sugars are not good for your body. Plus, did you know that there is an allowance for the number of insect parts and rat droppings that can be present in a grain silo? At least this cereal has been inspected to higher standards."

Booth just rolled his to her comments and swallowed another bite. He was happy that her ankle didn't seem to be impacting her ability to bicker. He ate for a few more minutes and then spoke, "Bones, what's on your agenda for today?"

She was obviously deep in thought, but snapped out of it to answer. "I don't know Booth. I guess it depends on how long this appointment takes and what Jameson tells me. I need to work if I can." Honestly, she wanted to crawl back into bed, but refused to give into her injury.

Booth just nodded at her resolve. "Okay, just let me know what you want to do after the appointment. I'm going to work on the case a little more. I wonder if Angela and Hodgins have gotten any where with the rebar." He wanted to get the case wrapped up soon.

"We'll call them in a little while. I think Cam knows to go ahead and send everything to Caroline when it's finished." As she spoke, Bones was working to get the cereal bowls into the sink. Booth had to smile at the ways she had already learned to work around her crutches.

Booth responded to her comment. "I'm sure Cam will take care of it." He decided to shift gears. "How's the ankle treating you today?" He looked down, but could only see her toes; he'd have to inspect it when they took the soft cast off in a little while.

Brennan shrugged her shoulders. "I'm okay Booth. I'm just ready to get this fixed so I can get back to work. I don't like this at all." As she finished her statement, she mouthed two of her pills and downed a glass of water that Booth had obviously set out for her.

Booth responded only with a nod and thought, 'me either Bones, me either.'

He watched her with awe as she sat on the couch and put on her tennis shoes, or shoe anyway. She certainly was the toughest person he had ever met. She kept her other shoe in her hand. He assumed she was taking it with her in case she could put it on after the appointment.

She stood again and he said, "Ready to go Bones?"

She simply nodded and picked up her notebook from the coffee table and the duo headed out the door.

In just a few minutes, they were sitting back in Jameson's waiting room. Brennan was bored, so she busied herself by analyzing the injuries of the other people waiting. There were obviously athletes with torn ACL's and many broken bones. After looking at her x-rays during her first visit, she was surprised that she hadn't broken her fibula. Her talus had to have pushed on it hard to cause that type of ligament damage. She thought to herself, 'The recovery would have been easier if the bone would have broken.'

Several minutes later, a nurse called her name and she stood to go back. She tilted her head toward the door, giving Booth the okay to come. He'd been there thus far, no real reason to stop him now.

As the pair walked back, the nurse instructed them to go toward the x-ray room. "Dr. Jameson wants to get the x-rays first. Go ahead, the tech is in there. I'll come in a few minutes and cut the soft cast off. We need to see what's underneath there. Do want something for pain before we start?"

Brennan just shook her head, "No, I took something before I left home. It helps."

They entered the room, and Brennan got settled on the table. The x-ray technician went ahead, put her in a lead apron, and began to set a few dials on the machine. The young, male tech then started taking films of her uninjured right ankle. Brennan knew they were getting a baseline. They hadn't done this yet.

The tech finished with her healthy ankle, and within five minutes, the nurse returned and took used a couple of sharp objects to remove the soft cast, revealing what was underneath.

If Booth had a weak stomach, he might have gagged at what he saw. Her foot looked awful. It was still swollen as much as Monday, but had taken on about 20 shades of blue, green, purple, and red.

Brennan studied her ankle just as Booth did. Mostly, she wanted to reach down and scratch it after the five days she spent in that cast, but she refused to touch it. She knew that any touch would be painful and it was best to avoid it all together.

The tech started with the typical lateral and medial views that were pretty much painless for Brennan. Then he started the stress views which were awful. He used some type of block to achieve the desired positions and then quickly snapped the films. Brennan was silent. It hurt like hell, but she wouldn't cry. She just gritted her teeth, held her breath, and willed herself not to let on that it hurt.

Booth looked on in a certain amount of pain himself. He knew they were hurting his Bones, but knew it had to be done. 'Next time,' he thought, 'they need to just give her anesthesia. I'm pretty sure what they are doing would classify as torture in Switzerland.'

Finally, they finished and the tech came back over, removed the lead apron, and apologized. He patted Brennan on the arm and spoke. "Dr. Brennan, you can go ahead and go to exam four now. Do you want some ice while you wait on Jameson?"

She was still a little out of breath from the experience and just nodded her head. Booth held her crutches for her and helped her gently ease of the table. They slowly made there way to the exam room. The x-ray tech must have sent the nurse for the ice because she appeared almost as soon as Brennan could sit back on the table.

The nurse took a few more digital images of the injured foot and then took her vitals again. She looked a little puzzled as she pulled the thermometer out of her ear. "You've got a very low grade fever. Does that happen to you a lot?"

Brennan just nodded and evened out her breathing so she could speak. "It does happen for a short while when I experience pain. I'm fine, a little achy, but that's due to the crutches." Brennan explained.

"Alright," the kind nurse responded. "I'll not worry about it, but Jameson may want you to keep a watch on it in case he decides on surgery." Brennan nodded and the nurse left saying, "He'll be in shortly. Take care of yourself dear."

After the nurse left, the dynamic duo was alone in the exam room. Booth sat close to her head and put his hand on her shoulder. "You okay Bones? You look a little uncomfortable."

Brennan let out a breath she had been holding against the throbbing pain she felt and spoke. "I'll be fine. I just wish they didn't have to touch me. It's not over yet though. I'm sure Jameson will need to mess with me."

He started rubbing her arm as she worked to calm herself from the pain. In a few minutes, Jameson knocked on the door.

"Temperance, how have the last five days been for you?" The doctor asked as he reached out and shook Booth's hand.

She exhaled, "Fine, a little painful, but fine. I went back to work on Wednesday."

He prodded further, "How have the crutches been treating you? They are usually a big adjustment."

She became clinical with her answer, "My biceps and triceps are very sore along with my latissimus dorsi muscles. I also have been experiencing some minor cramping in my right leg, but I would assume that is to be expected with the extra use."

The doctor nodded and Booth was surprised. She hadn't mentioned the pain in her other leg. 'Bones,' he thought, 'when will you learn it's okay to share things?'

"You are right; hopefully the discomfort from the crutches will diminish as you spend more time on them. It's like training for a new sport." The doctor explained. "At any rate, let's take a look and see if you've made any improvement."

He gently felt her ankle and took a few measurements of the swelling. "The swelling is slightly increased from Monday. You're going to need to get off of it again." Brennan just nodded. She had expected that.

He then gently placed his hand below her mangled foot and asked her to flex. She tried, but was only able to elicit a slight twitch. He continued testing, and Brennan wasn't able to complete any of the requested tasks. He worked her ankle gently, nothing compared to the previous visit. Brennan and a still observant Booth were thankful for that. He put her ankle back down and returned her new friend, the ice pack, to its home.

The doctor started clipping x-ray films on the wall of light screens. He clearly positioned the films of her left ankle on the top with the corresponding right films below. Brennan could see a lot of the problem immediately – surgery it is.

"Okay, Temperance, as you can probably tell, you aren't healing on your own. Your range of motion is essentially at zero, and the swelling isn't decreasing. I really feel you are going to need a good deal of reconstructive surgery to fix this. Also, your ankle shows a great deal of instability and if your ligaments did repair themselves, you would not be able to safely participate in sports or other strenuous activities." She nodded; she was prepared for that based on her research and observations.

"I also want you to take a look at these x-rays." He pointed to the stress views. "There should be no space between your tibia and fibula at the talus, but you have about 10 mm between them. I recommend surgery at 6 mm." Brennan nodded and noticed Booth peering at the films from his seat.

"Lastly, your MRI showed a good bit of damaged tissue and basically confirmed our initial findings of four complete tears and one partial tear. What I would like to do is get you in as soon as possible to get this all corrected." He began to explain. "I want to do something similar to a Brostrom repair on the lateral ankle injury to reattach the ligaments. We will make a long, curved incision just behind the lateral malleolus. From there, I can use staples and sutures to reattach the ligaments. It is possible that we might not have a long enough piece of ligament. If we run into that, we'll harvest a piece of your peroneus brevis tendon and use that." Brennan nodded at the doctor's words. She understood the procedure, but looked at a stunned and confused Booth.

"That will take care of half the problem. For the high ankle, tib / fib injury, I want to insert two or three screws to stabilize the joint so that healing can occur. We might be able to use the same incision, but if I can't get the bones positioned correctly, I will have to make an incision on the lowest portion of your calf, just above the ankle. We'll just have to see when we get in there. There is also some scar tissue from previous injuries. I'll scope that out as well." The doctor stopped, the verdict was in.

It sounded like a lot, but Brennan knew the procedures were routine. She'd be fine. At this point, she just wanted to get it fixed so that she could move without pain.

Jameson spoke again. "Do you have any questions or have any issues with the procedures I've mentioned? There are other options, but I feel like this regimen will yield the best results."

Booth was still a little stunned. Brennan looked over at Booth and nodded to reassure him before responding to the doctor. "No, I think that will work, I did some research myself and I expected as much."

The doctor smiled and stood. "Good, that settles it. Just wait her a few minutes and I'll come back in with some information for you and a date for the surgery. I want to get you in fast, but have to check the logs."

With that, the doctor made his exit and Brennan and Booth were left in the room alone. At some point, Booth had grabbed her hand and she wasn't sure if it was because she was scared or if he was scared. 'Probably both,' she thought.


	18. Details

**A/N - This is the conclusion of the previous chapter. It's still pretty heavy on medical terminology. There will be a return to the case soon, though. I hope you still like it.**

Disclaimer - Bones belongs to Fox.

Chapter 18

Brennan and Booth sat together in silence for a few minutes. Booth's thoughts were of worry and Brennan's thoughts were more scientific. Booth worried that she would be okay through the surgery and that she would be in a lot of pain and he wouldn't be able to fix it. He didn't like the sound of staples, tendons, screws, and incisions.

She was thinking of her x-rays, the degree of damage, and expected recovery time.

When Booth snapped out of his thoughts, he decided to start a conversation with her. "Bones, why are you running a fever? Are you sick?" He was genuinely concerned about it.

His question helped Brennan focus on the living again. "No, Booth, I think it's just that the pain throws my body out of balance. It can be a common response to pain. I feel fine. I'd know it if I was getting sick. Besides, I don't get sick." She didn't tell him the complete truth. She did feel fine and the fever was because of the pain, but she didn't say that it hurt so badly when anyone touched it that it made her blood boil – probably causing a slight fever.

Booth wasn't convinced at her reasoning, but didn't push it. His patience had paid off so far. She was accepting help he never would have dreamed she would have taken.

After a few more minutes, Jameson walked back in the exam room. "Alright Temperance, it looks like I have a slot for Monday morning for you if you are willing. My partner will work on you with me." He waited for her to respond and when he saw her nod, he continued. "I want to go over a couple of things with you. First, you need to stay off your feet for the rest of the weekend. We need to get as much swelling out of you as we can before the surgery."

Brennan nodded; she knew that inflammation could get in the way of the surgery. She didn't want to return to her hole on the couch, but if surgery was going to be Monday, she would be closer to starting the recovery process if she complied.

Jameson continued with his discussion. "I'm also going to send you home with a cold circulation unit. It will work better than an icepack. You will need it after surgery anyway. Keep it on as much as possible. It will help with the swelling and hopefully dull the pain in the meantime."

Brennan would be thankful if that was the case and gave him a smile at the thought. Since he paused, she interjected with a question. "Will this be done as day surgery, or will I have to stay overnight?" Booth rolled his eyes at her first question. He knew she would hate staying over night, but if he needed to cuff her to the bed, he would.

"At this point, I'm planning on keeping you for one night due to the complexity of what we will do. The surgery is essentially two different surgeries performed back to back, so you will be out of it for longer than most ankle surgery cases. Also, with the pain and swelling you've had thus far, you will benefit greatly from IV pain killers. Staying over night will also depend on whether or not you require general anesthesia. We usually try to go regional with these, but there is a lot involved with yours. Regional may not be enough, but we'll try." The doctor knew he was talking a lot, but also knew she would want the information.

Booth had been listening intently and had to ask a question. "How long will it take?" He needed to know how long his Bones would be lying on a cold table hooked to heart monitors.

The doctor kindly responded, "That also depends on what we need to do when we get inside. If I had to guess I would say between three and four hours." Booth nodded, he understood that they wouldn't know some answers until she was in the operating room.

"Lastly, while you are in the hospital, you will begin some physical therapy. It will mostly be electrotherapy at first to try and alleviate some pain and keep the calf and thigh muscles strong while they aren't being used. We are kind of in a catch 22 with your situation because the lateral ankle repair can actually withstand physical therapy within days of surgery. In your case, that's not possible due to the screws for the high ankle problem. This will probably result in the over tightening of ligaments. You are going to have to eventually stretch them through therapy, but we will cross that bridge once the screws are removed." Jameson was finally wrapping up his little explanation.

"You'll continue working with a physical therapist after you go home, and will hit it hard when your screws come out in 10 – 12 weeks." Brennan nodded again, that seemed like such a long time.

"I think I am done for now, I'll need you to go over to the main hospital and get your pre-admission screening done. I'm going to give you the choice of what you want to do with your ankle until surgery. I can put you back in a soft cast, or we can just wrap it. I'm not worried about positioning since we'll be operating soon. Whatever will be the most comfortable for you is fine with me." He explained.

Brennan really didn't need to think. "Wrapping it will be fine with me. The ice feels better that way and I can at least get it wet." Jameson nodded and grabbed a few supplies from the drawer and within a few painful minutes, she was wrapped back up and ready to head to the hospital.

As she put her shoes, both of them, back on, the nurse reentered with the cold circulation unit, surgical procedure information sheets, prescription refill authorizations, and another new prescription. Brennan looked puzzled, so the nurse explained. "Jameson wants you to keep taking the meds you've been on, but also wants you to take a sedative before you go to sleep Sunday night and before you leave for the hospital on Monday morning. It will help you relax and hopefully the regional anesthetic will be enough for the surgery that way."

"Thank you," was all Brennan said as they went to leave. Booth had picked up all of the supplies and carried it out to the SUV. He would meet her back in the hospital.

Over the course of the next hour and a half, Brennan had filled out mounds of paper work, had her vitals taken again (as she expected, her fever was gone), and had blood drawn. She was already tired when they finished up, but at least she wouldn't have to worry about it on Monday. She already had to be there by 6:00 for surgery to start at 7:00.

Exiting the hospital, Booth asked the same question from the morning. "Bones, what's on your agenda for today?" He knew what she was supposed to do, but didn't know if she would adhere strictly to the orders.

"I need to go to the lab and take care of a few things and tell the team the details. The paperwork said I will need to be out of work for one to two weeks. One should be plenty." Brennan already hated missing that much, but if she wanted to go in the field again, she would comply with the minimum requirements. Also, she figured she would be kind of out of it on pain meds for a while anyway.

Booth smiled at her resolve to only be out one week and said, "After you finish at the lab, you want me to take you home?" He hoped her answer would be yes.

Brennan just sighed, she didn't want to, but she really felt like collapsing on the couch. She probably wouldn't be much good at work now anyway. "Sure Booth, I'll order some take out and you can head back to work. You need to get the warrants for the truck and missing financials."

Booth just nodded, he hated doing all of that without her. She was capable of helping with that part, but needed to be home resting to get ready for surgery. He needed her to follow orders so she could get back to him, soon.

The pair rode in silence back to the Jeffersonian and went inside. Hodgins heard her crutches clicking and looked up. "Hey, Dr. B., you've got a shoe on, must have been good news from the doctor." He immediately saw the looks on their faces and realized that intuitive leaps weren't for him.

Brennan responded clinically, directing her comments to all three of the coworkers on the platform. "I wish that were true, Jack, but it's not. Actually, I'm going to have to have surgery on Monday morning to repair the ligament damage and insert a few temporary screws in my tibia and fibula."

Angela looked worried and Cam looked slightly disappointed. Angela spoke first. "Oh, Sweetie, I'm sorry." She pulled her friend into a hug and whispered in her ear, "At least you have agent study to satisfy your every need."

No one else could tell what was said, but saw the glare Brennan shot at her best friend. It was obvious that Angela was playing match maker again, no intuitive leaps required to figure that out.

Brennan saw everyone's looks and said, "I'll be fine, there were other options, but I want a working ankle in the least amount of time possible. This is the best solution for me." The crew nodded and returned to work.

Brennan worked for the next hour getting things ready to go back home. Booth went over the rebar data with Hodgins. Hopefully they would have the information ready for Caroline by 2:00. That would give them time to impound the car and analyze it over the weekend.

At 12:00, Brennan wrapped up, found Booth, and let Booth take her home. At her apartment, she changed clothes and Booth hooked up the cold circulation unit contraption. He was frustrated that he actually had to look at the instructions. 'Real men don't need instructions,' he thought. He smiled at the possibility of Bones going anthropological on him if he said it out loud.

Despite the struggle, he had it hooked up before she came back from the bedroom. She immediately lay down and found peace in the comfort of her couch. She waited a few minutes and then put the circulation boot thing on. It looked like an astronaut's boot, except it was blue and connected to a small cooler filled with ice water. It actually felt nice. It wasn't extremely cold like ice, so it could stay on longer.

"Bones, you need anything?" He asked knowing that she hadn't ordered the takeout she mentioned.

She already had her eyes closed when she responded, "No, Booth, I'm fine. Thanks for everything. You are a big help and a great friend." Her speech was slurring and she was asleep just a few seconds after she uttered the words.

Booth covered her up and made himself something to eat in her kitchen. He had bought some things he liked at the store the weekend before. Tofu was definitely not going to cut it for him.

He finished up and then his cell phone rang. He answered in traditional Booth style and listened as Hodgins told him to get to the lab; they had the information they needed for the warrant. He flipped the phone shut and hurried to get things finished at Bones' place.

He did the usual stocking of the table and then placed his hand on her forehead to check and see for himself if she had a fever. She didn't, to his relief. He then made sure she was sleeping soundly and gave her a kiss on the cheek. 'She'd deck me if she caught me doing that, he thought, but didn't care. He'd work up the courage to do it when she was awake some day. With that, he went to leave.

'You know I hate this, right Bones,' he thought as he walked out the door, flipped open his phone and dialed Nichols.


	19. Committed

**A/ N - Sorry I didn't get anything up yesterday. Halloween got in the way. Hopefully I can get another one up tonight too. Thank you so much for all the reviews. I'm now over 100 which is great for my first fic. Please continue to let me know what you like / dislike.**

Disclaimer - Bone is property of Fox.

Chapter 19

Booth called Nichols and told her to meet him at the Jeffersonian. He hated to leave Bones, but he had to get back to work. He hadn't missed a whole day of work yet, but a few hours here and a few hours there add up quickly. He was thankful for a flexible job and a partially understanding boss who knew that he normally clocked 60 – 80 hours in a week.

He entered the Jeffersonian and found the platform empty. He poked his head into a few rooms and still came up empty. He finally found Jack, Angela, Cam, Caroline, and even Nichols in Zack's old work room.

The group rarely went into that room anymore. Booth supposed it brought back too many unfavorable memories. Heck, it even made him a little sad. He couldn't imagine how hard it was on the others, especially Hodgins and Bones.

Booth snapped out of his thoughts and took a look at the contraption Hodgins had rigged. There were several pulleys, levers, and motors inside a fiberglass chamber. Booth had to grin at the set up. He silently marveled at the motors and wondered how many horsepower they contained and how Hodgins got his hands on them so quickly.

Hodgins shot Booth as glance, apparently questioning whether or not he was ready to start. Booth nodded back and Hodgins began the explanation of the experiment. "Alright, the rebar on the left is the sample of the brand Groves put into the office complex. The sample on the right is what was supposed to be used according to the plan and building codes." Hodgins the flipped down his face shield and the rest of the crew stepped back out of harm's way.

Angela handed Caroline and Nichols each a pair of safety glasses and then handed a pair to Booth. He resisted and Angela knew exactly how to get him to comply. She began to whisper in his ear, "Booth, you know what all can happen during these little experiments, and you wouldn't want to harm those brown eyes. What else would you use to stare at a certain anthropologist?"

Booth rolled his eyes and put the glasses on to make her stop. He was thankful no one heard the exchange; at least he thought they didn't.

Angela smirked and thought, 'Works everytime.'

In actuality, Nichols did hear the exchange and was not surprised. She knew that Angela would stop at nothing to get Booth and Brennan together. 'I really don't see why everyone thinks they are perfect for each other anyway, they are too different.' She thought to herself.

Once Hodgins noticed that Booth, Caroline, and Nichols were wearing the appropriate squint attire, he pulled the lever starting the motors. The digital PSI pressure gage began to climb. The bar on the left began to bow as the digital readout approached 40,000 psi. It bent like a pipe cleaner at 45,000 psi. The one on the right, however, held firm through 75,000 psi and had only started to bow at 80,000.

Hodgins flipped off the contraption at 80,000 psi. It was the maximum pressure he could rig. Caroline spoke first. "Well, looks like our handy construction scientist has been cutting a few corners. I'm going to go pay your favorite judge, Judge Haddeos, a little visit and see what he's willing to give me on a Friday." With that, Caroline left and the squints scattered leaving Booth and Nichols to interpret what they had just seen.

"So, Groves tries to cut corners and Watson is going to bust him. He uses his pimped out truck to crush him. How and why the body was found in the warehouse in DC is the question." Booth posited his scenario while flipping his poker chip into the air.

He waited for Nichols to contribute to the scenario or argue with his reasoning, but all he received was a silent stare. 'It's going to be a long few months,' he thought to himself. That thought had been way too common for him lately.

The awkward pair turned and left the lab to wait for information form Caroline. Nichols finally spoke as they walked out toward their FBI vehicles. Booth laughed a little as he noticed her tiny, standard issue car. 'Thank God for Special Agent status,' he thought. He turned toward Nichols as she began to speak. "So, when do we head back to West Virginia?" She asked bluntly.

Booth had prepared for that question. It would be asked eventually. "If WE have to go, it will be tomorrow or Sunday. I'm not going to be available Monday or Tuesday except to do work online or by phone." He didn't really view her question as vicious, but wanted to make sure she knew his plans. He was planning on requesting a few vacation days from Cullen. He hadn't taken any in a long time and Bones needed him right now.

Nichols just nodded, disappointed, and the pair went back to the Hoover separately to wait on news from the warrant. Booth worked on the mounding pile of paperwork he never seemed to get a handle on and Nichols worked on talking to the other agents in the building.

Around 4:00, Caroline called. They had the warrants the needed. Booth began giving orders to the agents under him and made sure Charlie would get the financials to the banking division. Hopefully they could see if any of Groves' mystery accounts were linked to the warehouse at all. In the meantime, a crew would be sent to impound Groves' truck and ship it to the Jeffersonian.

As of right now, they didn't have enough cause to arrest Groves, but it was only a matter of time. Booth only hoped that they could get this case wrapped up Saturday or Sunday so that he wouldn't have to worry about it for a couple of days while Bones had surgery and recovered. She had Max who could help if she needed him, but she was less willing to accept his help than Booth's. Booth was trying to help Max's cause and she had come a long way, but over 15 years of distrust takes a while to repair.

Booth called Nichols, asked her to take care of a few things, and informed her that he would be going back to the lab to work with Angela on the scenario.

He hadn't talked to Bones since he left her at her apartment, but figured that she was resting and would call if she needed something. He wanted to be with her, but had to work.

Booth made his way back to the lab and found Angela. She looked up as he walked in her door. "Hey Booth, how's Brennan?" She asked simply.

Booth sighed, "I haven't talked to her since right after lunch when I took her home." It was 6:00 now. "She was tired and the drugs make her sleepy anyway. She'll probably get bored and call when she gets moving." He finished.

Angela nodded. "Bored, huh, that won't take long. She would probably rather them just cut her foot of and give her a prosthesis so she can get into the field sooner." Angela was being funny and serious at the same time.

Booth knew that the artist was probably right. She knew Bones better than most. "You're probably right, Angela. Honestly, I wish she would be able to go into the field with me sooner too. It's not the same with Nichols." He was being honest with her.

"She's been awfully curious about you and Bren. I think she realizes that you are hot and would like to get some FBI experience from you." Angela had let Nichols talk to her, the young agent had said too much.

Booth was shocked by the suggestion. "God, Angela, don't you know when to stop? Plus, that wouldn't happen – not ever." Booth hadn't really given Nichols much thought thus far, and didn't intend to start now.

"I know that Booth. I just thought you might want to know that she is interested. I don't like her." Angela explained.

Booth shared her feelings, but had to stay focused. "That's fine Angela, but we have to keep her happy so that Bones can stay my partner. Cullen's not going to assign me another temporary agent if Nichols can't handle us."

Angela understood, and would comply. "Fine Booth, I'll play nice. To what do I owe this visit anyway? Not that I mind a FBI Knight coming into my office everyday."

Booth bit back the comment that almost escaped and said, "I wanted to see where you were with the scenario in the Angelator. As soon as we get it right, I can probably bring the scum in."

Angela focused on her work. "I have all of the values entered, but there are some things that aren't right. Hopefully I can figure them out once we get the truck without Bren, but there are some weird angles and stuff that I can't discern on the fractures."

Booth became a little protective. "Don't call her unless we absolutely have too. She is supposed to stay completely off that ankle until Monday. It's still swelling and they have her in this weird boot thing to try to get the swelling out." He explained.

Angela gave him a nod of understanding before speaking. "I'm surprised she agreed to go home. Bren's always been a workaholic. She had this horrible stomach bug one time and worked anyway. She locked herself in the bone room with limbo remains for two days until it passed. It was awful, she was miserable and wouldn't admit it."

Booth just shook his head and smiled, he finally spoke. "She's so stubborn and committed, she just Bones. That's why I. . ." Booth caught himself before he went on, hoping the cupid-wannabe didn't hear.

No such luck, "Why you what, Booth?" She wasn't letting this one go. She had already gotten her confession from Brennan, now it was Booth's turn.

He tried to be cool, "Nothing, it's just why I enjoy working with her. She's committed and passionate." He hoped that would be enough.

Angela could tell what he wanted to say. He didn't have to verbalize it. "Okay, listen Booth. I know you have feelings for my best friend. You are the best thing that has happened to her and she has opened up to you more than anyone else. Don't let her scare you out of trying with all of her logic and analysis."

Booth just nodded and started to leave. "Thanks Angela. Have a good night," was all he said. His thoughts were going crazy though. He thought back to the advice he had given Sully before he left. It was way too similiar to what Angela had just said. He had warned him into not letting Bones bully him into leaving. He would take his own advice with one difference. He wouldn't leave her off of his own free will – that's what Sully did.

At that very moment, Booth committed to himself that he would always be there for Bones. He would help her get back into the field and next time she was sick, she would be taken care of, not locked up in the bone room avoiding everyone. He would be there.

Booth left the Jeffersonian and made a few calls on his cell. The forensic team was in Randolph County and would be working with the truck before they hauled it to DC. He was given an ETA of 11:00 am the following morning. Charlie said the bank guys were going over the financials and would hopefully have something tomorrow as well. Nichols was still working with the contact lists of Groves and Watson. Everyone was entertained. He could finally go check on his Bones.


	20. Late Night Stories

**A/N - Thanks for the consistent reviews. I hope this chapter is okay. It was a little hard to write. Let me know what you think.**

Disclaimer - I don't own Bones.

Chapter 20

The ride back to her apartment seemed longer than normal. He had tried calling her when he got into the car, but didn't get an answer. He had convinced himself that she was just in the bath to keep himself from worrying. He ran by his apartment and got a few things. He knew that he would have to stay there eventually, but frankly, he didn't want to. It wasn't home any more. He then stopped by an Italian restaurant and picked up an order he had called in. Bones would be happy he brought her a salad for once, even if it was almost 9:00.

He walked up the stairs and used the key he now called his to let himself in. He didn't find Bones, so he walked toward her bedroom. He found her sitting on the bed wearing a white bathrobe, her hair wet. He had only seen her this way one other time, when they had gone to Angela's vacation cabin. He had to pause and just look at her before speaking. She wasn't like other women; her beauty was in her simplicity. She didn't need tons of make up or plastic surgery to be beautiful, it was a gift given to her by the creator she didn't believe in.

He spoke before his staring got too creepy. "Hey Bones, what's up?" She popped her head up to look at him.

"Hey Booth, I'm just getting this bandage back on before I go back in the living room. I took it off to get in the bath." She explained as she put the clips on the bandage and gingerly shifted to the edge of the bed to get her crutches. She stood on her healthy leg and threw the bath robe back on the bed to reveal her cami and capri length pajama set.

Booth nodded and let her pass him to go back into the living room. He couldn't help but notice how much skin she was showing in that top. He liked it. "I brought some food from Sorrento's. I got you that salad thing you like." He was actually proud of himself for ordering food he couldn't pronounce the name of. "You didn't eat yet did you?"

Brennan answered as she sat back on the couch and put her ankle back in the circulation unit, elevating it on the coffee table. "No, I mostly just rested. I did get another chapter of my book written and called my dad and publicist. Dad said he can take me Monday if you need to work on the case."

Booth could tell by her tone that she had slept a good deal while he was gone. She was moving well and seemed like she wasn't as achy. He was relieved. "I'm planning on taking a few days off next week anyway, but it's fine with me if Max takes you. It's up to you Bones, it's your leg."

A wave of relief passed through Brennan, she would never admit it, but she was nervous about the surgery and Booth always made her feel safe. She knew her dad loved her, but the safe feeling wasn't there with him. She concocted an answer that wouldn't seem so desperate. "If you are available Booth, I'm sure that would be best. My dad has been helping Russ and Amy with Emma and Haley some in the afternoons since they moved to DC anyway. At least he would still be able to do that."

"Sure Bones, whatever you want is fine by me." That was a lie. He wanted to be there with her. "I'm sure Max could still come to the hospital, he just wouldn't have to be tied down. Is that 'thing' helping any?" Booth asked as he cut his eyes to the cooling contraption. He was still working to get the dinner plates ready.

Brennan nodded and answered, "It seems to be. I can't tell it's not swelling any more and may be going down a little. At any rate, it feels good. With ice, it can only stay on for around 20 minutes without causing cold injuries. The cool water in the boot is at a temperature that won't cause those problems, so it can stay on for hours at a time."

Booth just smiled at her long, scientific explanation. "That's good Bones." He handed her the salad plate and sat down beside her.

She grabbed the remote and turned on the television. Booth was surprised at her action but then wasn't when he realized what she was watching. "Bones, really, _Dr. G: Medical Examiner_, don't you get enough of that at work?" The Discovery Health Channel was not on his 'frequent viewing' list.

"What, I find her cases very intriguing. She is very scientific and her reasoning is very accurate. I can enjoy watching this more than some of the crime drama shows on some of the other channels." She explained and Booth just laughed.

"Only you, Bones, would watch a show like this while you get to spend days lying on a couch. You should try a soap opera sometime." He was trying to get her riled up, but she didn't take the bait, she just watched the show and ate.

When they finished, Booth stood to take the plates. She realized that she hadn't thanked him or asked him about his day, so she asked, "Thanks for bringing the food again Booth. You really don't have to do that." Truthfully, she liked it, though.

"Not a big deal Bones, I've got to eat, getting you a salad isn't that much trouble. If you asked for Chicken thought, it might be a problem" He actually enjoyed doing it.

"What happened with the case today?" She was hoping to hear some good news.

Good news is what she received as Booth filled her in on all the details and told her that he would be working on it this weekend. He didn't have Parker on Sunday because of a birthday party, so hopefully he could get it wrapped up.

She soaked up all of the information and when he finished, she said, "Just let me know what you need me to do to help Booth. I could go to the lab tomorrow if you need me to." She really wanted to be involved in the case, but wouldn't demand it. She knew that she felt better after resting and going to work over the weekend would take a lot out of her right before the surgery.

Booth had an answer he would like to give her. 'Actually Bones, I need you to get better so that my partner can be my partner.' He didn't give her that answer, though. Instead he said, "Thanks Bones, hopefully we can take care of it, but if we are stumped, I'll let you know. You have already done a lot by figuring out the cause of death."

He had finally finished cleaning up in the kitchen and sat back on the couch beside her. The pair sat in silence. One of the partners watching the tv show, while the other watched his partner. Eventually, though, the show captured Booth's attention and he found himself enjoying it. 'She's rubbing off on me,' he thought, but didn't think of it as a bad thing.

It must have been a marathon because another episode followed the first and the pair continued to watch. A few minutes into the third episode, Booth noticed Brennan squirming again. He could tell something was wrong. "Hey Bones, you okay?" She was reaching for her medicine from the table as he asked.

"Yeah Booth, I'm fine." She lied to him, took the medicine, and continued to watch the program.

A little while later, the squirming was still going on and he demanded a little more information from her. "Come on Bones, I can tell something's wrong. I can't help you if you don't tell me." Hopefully, that would elicit an answer.

She didn't want to swallow her pride and answer, but knew he wouldn't give up until she did. "I'm fine Booth, it's just that my right leg is still cramping from overuse. It will pass in a little while. It's not a big deal."

Booth didn't know whether it was the desire to touch her or the desire to take away the pain that gave him the courage to offer to help, but something did. "Bones turn and let me help you. Leg cramps hurt like hell and don't always go away on their own."

For some reason, she did as requested and allowed Booth's strong, large hands massage her calf and thigh muscles. She winced a few times as he worked the knots out but after a few minutes, her pain was gone and she was really relaxed. "Booth, is there anything you can't do?" She asked as he shifted so that he could work her neck and arms.

He smiled at her question, and answered, "Yeah Bones, there's lots of stuff I can't do." He was thinking along the lines of all the cases he hadn't solved or relationships that hadn't worked out, but answered using a more comedic response. "For one thing, I can't name all of the elements on the periodic table, or tell you all of the muscles in the body." He thought to himself, 'I also, can't figure out how I feel about you or how to talk to you about it. There's a lot I can't do.'

After a little while longer, Brennan was back asleep with her head again in Booth's lap. This time, he didn't hurry to get up. He stayed.

After a short while of playing with her hair, Booth decided that he needed a reason to stay there, so he grabbed the remote and flipped on Sports Center. He halfway watched television and halfway watched her. He fell asleep himself after an hour or so, still playing with her hair.

All was quiet in her apartment until 2:00 am when mumbling woke Brennan up. She was a little confused at her surroundings, took just a few minutes to get her bearings, and soon realized that Booth had fallen asleep on the couch after massaging her, her head was still in his lap. She then realized he must be dreaming. He was mumbling something about orders and location. He seemed distressed, so she decided to wake him up.

She shook his shoulder gently and said, "Booth, hey Booth, wake up." At first, she was unsuccessful, but after a few minutes, he shot up and shook his head.

"Sorry Bones, I'll get out of your way now." He began to get up when she grabbed his forearm to stop him.

"No Booth, stay. What in the world were you dreaming about?" She asked. She was genuinely concerned for him. She had never really seen him vulnerable like that with the exception of the Charlie Kent case.

Booth thought for a moment and tried to devise a way to avoid telling her. At the beginning of their partnership, he used the 'you don't ask for information without offering something yourself' card. He could play that now, but he knew that she had offered a lot of herself lately. She was humbling herself and accepting his help. That was a lot for her.

"Bones are you sure you want to know?" He hoped that she wouldn't.

Brennan nodded her head and prepared to hear what Booth had to say. As best she could, she tried to offer a little support to him. She placed her hand on his thigh out of friendship.

Booth exhaled and began to speak. "Okay Bones, so you know I served in the Middle East, right?" She gave him a nod and he continued. "Well, I was given an assignment to take down a leader of an extremist group in Mosul, Iraq. The US wasn't really active there at the time, so they sent me, my spotter, and a couple of others in alone. We set up camp in this old abandoned house that had a flat roof with a good view of the city. Everyday, I would sit on the roof and wait for the man to pass. Finally, one day, I took him down and hoped everything was over, but it wasn't." He paused for a minute to regain his composure.

"Anyway, I started packing up my equipment and when I walked toward the stairwell, I was knocked flat by a couple of extremists. I don't really remember much for the day or so after that. I just remember waking up in a small house with my arms tied up. None of my team was there, I knew they had probably killed them and kept me because I ranked the highest." Booth continued revealing one of his most personal stories with his best friend.

"I'm not sure how long I was there, probably a week or so. Everyday, they would come in and demand that I give them the location of the US operations center and everyday. I refused every time. After the second day, they began beating me with a pipe, mostly on my feet. I'm not sure how many times they did it, but eventually, it didn't hurt anymore. I was just numb." Brennan nodded at his admission. She remembered seeing his x-rays and nothing had been mentioned of it in the almost three years since the refrigerator incident.

"Anyway, finally, late one evening, I heard rustling in the house. I was in the basement. After a few minutes of gun fire, two special ops officers came downstairs and untied me. I was pretty out of it, but, I remember them carrying me upstairs and loading me on to a jeep. They must have given me a lot of drugs because I don't remember anything until I woke up in the military hospital in Landsthul about three days later." He was almost finished.

"I spent three weeks there and finally got to come back to the US. I had to go through six months of physical therapy and was finally able to run again. The military wanted to medically discharge me, but I worked hard and got back to 100 percent and went back to work." He was finally finished.

Brennan didn't speak. She just removed her hand from Booth's thigh and pulled him into a hug. She was pretty sure that he had never told anyone about that before, probably not even his own family.

After a few minutes in the hug, she said three simple words. "I'm sorry Booth."

He worked to lighten the mood. "You know Bones, it is what it is, but let's just say if you ever need help figuring out how to get things done on those crutches, just ask. I have personal experience."

She just shook her head and smiled, "Obviously you do."

The pair sat in silence for a few minutes, both lost in their own thoughts. Finally around 3:00, Booth stood and said, "Bones, do you need anything, I'm going to go to bed, the truck is supposed to be at the lab by 11:00 and I need to take care of a few things at the Hoover before that?"

She just shook her head and lay back down on the couch. Her body was sleepy, but her mind was racing about what she had just heard. She closed her eyes and tried to rest. She thought about Booth's story and how he refused to be discharged from the military. 'He really is a strong and determined person. I admire him for that. It may be more than admiration that I feel, but I'm not sure what it is.'

Even though she didn't ask, Booth changed out the ice in the cold circulation unit and flipped it on. He turned off all the remaining lights and disappeared into the guest room. He was slightly surprised that he had told Bones that story, but he really did want to tell her about his past. He wanted her to know exactly who he was and hoped that someday, she would tell him her stories too. He hated envisioning stories about her time in foster care. He needed to know for himself.


	21. Solving the Case

**A/ N - Sorry for the delay, it's going to be a pretty busy week. Anyway, this chapter is a fillerish one. Hopefully I'll get the next one finished tomorrow and we can get to the surgery / recovery. Thanks for all the great reviews and alerts. Please continue to let me know what you think. **

Disclaimer - I am in no way associated with the TV show Bones.

Chapter 21

Both Booth and Brennan slept fitfully for the rest of the night for different reasons. Brennan was contemplating the horrible things Booth had endured over his lifetime and Booth worried that his history would change her opinion of him. When morning came, Booth got ready and made his way into the kitchen completely expecting her to still be asleep.

"Hey," he said as he noticed that she had cooked eggs for him. He smiled as he got a mental picture of her scrambling eggs on crutches. "Bones, you really shouldn't be up right now. You need to keep that space boot thing on as much as possible."

She rolled her eyes at his protective nature and the bickering began. "Booth, I hardly think that 30 minutes out of that cooling unit will change how long it takes me to recover. Besides, I'm tired of sitting, I need to be useful." She honestly did want to feel useful and was hoping that she could actually get some work done on the case today. Maybe should could even figure out a way to get to the Jeffersonian.

"Only you, Bones, would despise having to lie around the house all day. Most people would love the opportunity." He was done with the bickering, "How's the ankle today?"

"Is that going to be the only question people ask me for the next few months?" She was tired of feeling disabled and decided Booth should take the brunt of her frustration.

"Bones!" He hoped saying her name one more time would make her see that he wanted an answer even if she didn't want to give one.

He was right. "It's fine Booth. It's actually feeling a lot better after staying off it yesterday. It still hurts, but the throbbing isn't as persistent." She explained her well-being as clinically as possible hoping it would deter further questions.

"That's good Bones." He was satisfied that she was okay so he chose not to ask the rest of his questions about her ankle and chose a different line of questioning. "What are you planning on doing today?"

"I'll do as much as I can. I'll probably work on my book and then try to stream the Angelator scenarios as she uploads them. I'm not sure how much I will accomplish here though." She insinuated that she wanted to be at the lab.

He knew what she was thinking and tried to head her off at the pass. "Bones, just stay put. If we absolutely need you, we'll call. Hopefully it will be really cut and dry once we get the truck in." He had finished his eggs and was getting ready to leave. "I'm going to go to the Hoover and brief Cullen on the case." He didn't mention that he was going to ask for the time off too.

With that last statement, Booth gathered his things and left.

Bones was alone, again. She settled back onto the couch and worked on her book for a little while. She couldn't remember when she had spent this much time at home, probably never. Even when she was sick, she worked. She could think of a few occasions when she should have stayed home, but chose to work to pass the time. She usually just locked herself in the bone room to keep from infecting the rest of the lab.

Even though she hated psychology, she knew her views on sickness were coping mechanisms. She didn't like to let on that she was sick. It was a weakness. She learned that in foster care when she was still in her first home. After that one terrible experience, she learned to deal with her sickness alone.

Booth drove to the Hoover and briefed Cullen on the situation with the case. Cullen was satisfied and slightly surprised that the case was going that well without the genius scientist. "How is Dr. Brennan?" Cullen asked.

"She's alright, sir. She's still in a good deal of pain and is at home trying to get the swelling to go down. She's scheduled for surgery on Monday morning and will probably spend Monday night in the hospital." Booth explained and was glad that Cullen brought the subject up. Asking for time off was usually a tricky thing, especially on short notice.

Cullen nodded with a slight grimace on his face. "I didn't realize that sprains could be that serious. I suppose that criminal father of hers is helping out?" Cullen actually respected Max and honestly, would have done the same thing if he needed to in order to protect Amy and his other daughter.

Booth jumped at the opportunity that Cullen threw out. "Actually, sir, Max has been helping Dr. Brennan's brother with his two step children a lot; one of them has cystic fibrosis. Anyway, he won't be available to help her as much as he would like, so I was going to ask you for some time off so I can help her out a little." Booth did his best to remain vague in his explanations.

Cullen gave Booth a strange look. He always thought the partners were close, maybe even to close, but their closure rate was high; they must be doing something right. "Booth, you know I can't let you off if this case isn't solved, but if you close it, take as much time as you need. I really need you both back in the field as soon as possible."

Booth exhaled, he was really relieved that Cullen had been so accommodating. "Yes sir, I understand. I intend to wrap up this case this weekend. Hopefully, I can get a confession out of Groves and we won't even have to trouble the US Attorneys too much." Cullen then excused Booth.

Booth then found Nichols. "What have you come up with from the contact list?" He expected an empty response, but was surprised.

Nichols began, "Actually, Groves' best friend knew who Watson was. Apparently, he used to gripe about him all the time. The friend said that the complaining just stopped one day and there were no other mentions of Watson, not even a snide remark about him going missing."

Booth just nodded. He hated that Nichols was actually pretty good at the investigative work. It made disliking her harder. "Alright, good job. Let's go check with Charlie on the financials. I want this one wrapped up in a nice package."

The pair talked with Charlie and found that Groves had several hidden accounts. He was making periodic deposits into them, but only one of them had any expenses or drafts removed.

Booth spoke, "Have the bank guys run a tracer on every withdrawal. I'm betting that this account was used to rent the warehouse." He paused, thinking for a moment. "That would be enough to bring Groves in on suspicion of murder."

Charlie nodded and went back to work. Booth looked at Nichols. "It's 10:30 now, we need to get to the lab to be there when the techs bring the truck in."

Nichols nodded and followed Booth out to the SUV.

At the lab, Booth and Nichols were met by three squints. Cam spoke first. "FBI techs will be here in 30 with the truck. We're going to let Hodgins dust for particulates first and then Angela and I will take the measurements."

As expected, the truck arrived and Hodgins took his time gathering the particulate evidence. He was pretty sure that most evidence would have been washed away by the weather and use, but there were always particulates to test.

Booth and Nichols waited impatiently. Finally, after two hours, Hodgins finished and Cam and Angela went to work. Their job with the truck was fast, the hard work was tackled in Angela's office.

She worked for a while and then came out of her office with a look of despair on her face. "Booth!" She called.

He jumped from the couch, almost dropping his poker chip. "Did you get the scenario complete?"

She just shook her head. "No matter how hard I try, I can't get the angle that would produce the fracture patterns on the bones. I hate to admit it, but I'm going to have to call Bren." Angela knew Brennan wouldn't mind, but that was the problem. Her friend needed to recover not be pulled in to work because she couldn't do her job.

Booth was a little defensive. He didn't want Bones out of the house. "Cam can't figure it out?" He had barely finished his statement when the medical examiner walked in.

"I know you don't want her here, Seeley, but if you want the case closed, you are going to have to call her in. The fracture patterns are odd and the interns certainly can't figure it out. We're all stumped. We need her expertise." Cam was trying to appeal to Booth as a friend.

Booth thought for a second and ran his hand through his hair. He knew Brennan would be happy and come in immediately. She'd probably hurt herself further, but at least they would solve the case. "Okay, fine, but you have to have everything ready for her. She needs to be in and out as quickly as possible."

The team busied themselves on the jobs at hand and Booth went to make the call he didn't want to make. He dialed her number and she picked up almost immediately. "Hey Bones, listen, Angela needs you to work up the scenario in the Angelator with her. You feel like coming in for a little while?" He paused for a split second. She obviously agreed. "Alright, I'll pick you up in 20. I'll take you back home as soon as the scenario is right." He knew if he didn't put conditions on it, she would be in limbo working on remains before he could stop her.

Booth flipped the phone shut and told left to pick up his Bones.

40 minutes later, Booth, and a smiling Brennan walked back into the Jeffersonian. Brennan immediately shifted into scientist mode and made her way over to the truck. She studied it and looked at the specification sheet. She seemed to be in the zone, but couldn't quite put the scenario together. She couldn't see what she needed to see while on crutches.

She did what any good, truth-seeking scientist would do, and put her crutches against the table and went to work despite the pain.

Booth noticed her actions and protested. "Bones, what in the hell do you think you are doing?" He was in full out alpha male mode. She completely ignored him like any good alpha female.

She squatted beneath the grill, and looked up through the chrome. It didn't take her long, and she had put the picture together. As she stood back up, she knocked her ankle on one of the blocks used to support the truck. She tried to muffle the yelp that came from her lips but was unsuccessful.

Booth tried to stay calm, grabbed her crutches, handed them to her, and helped her steady herself. She shot him a glare to tell him that she was fine, but since she really wasn't the glare wasn't effective.

Booth followed her as she slowly made her way to Angela's office. He could tell she bit back a wave of pain as she began talking. "Alright Angela, try rotating Watson's body at a 12 degree angle and then raise his chest about a foot." Angela clicked a little on her touch screen and then ran the scenario again. As she did, the bones in Watson's chest and spinal column snapped in exactly the right places.

Brennan spoke again. "See, he must have been standing on a step or something to put some things on the top of the loading dock. He would have been reaching for something when Groves drove down the dock crushing him with his grill." She might be in pain, but her brain functioned as good as ever.

Booth instinctively flipped his poker chip in the air and said "Got him." He then turned and noticed that Brennan was leaning heavily on the table. Jaw still set.

He walked over to her and placed his hand on her back and said, "Bones, let's get you home."

She just nodded, let out a long breath, and headed toward the door. As they walked through the threshold, Booth's cell rang.

He flipped it open to find out that Charlie had heard back from the banking division. They had traced the mystery account to Groves and figured out how it was used to pay for the lease on the warehouse. They had more than enough to arrest Groves.

He turned to the oddly quiet Nichols. "Nichols, go ahead and take one of the teams with you. You can go to West Virginia and arrest Groves. Bring him in and I'll interrogate him." Booth didn't anticipate what came next.

Nichols saw the opportunity to get Booth away from the good doctor. "Actually Booth, I'm not really comfortable with the arrest making side of things yet. Plus, Groves is large and would definitely take me down in a struggle." She knew that she was attempting to appeal to the protective side of Booth, hopefully it would pay off.

Booth looked at Bones and back at Nichols and weighed his options. He had committed to take care of Bones, but he needed to close this case so he could be with her before, during, and after surgery. He looked at Bones again and she wasn't really paying him any attention. She was ready to get home and get off her feet.

Booth decided he had to go make the arrest. If he screwed this up, Bones would be alone during surgery and he couldn't let that happen. He then looked at Angela. "Hey Angela, can you take Bones home and help her out for a little while. I'll call Max to spend the night. It's almost 4:00 now and we won't be in until tomorrow morning at the earliest."

Angela shut down the Angelator and walked to get her purse. "Sure Booth, if Max can't come, I'll just spend the night." She was surprised that Brennan wasn't protesting, but she could tell she was in her own world.

"Thanks Angela. Bones, you going to be okay?" He asked, knowing full well that she would be.

Brennan answered quickly and concisely. "I'll be fine Booth. Just go get this creep."

That's just what Booth did; he walked briskly out of the lab to the SUV with Nichols trailing behind. He would get this guy, close the case, and be back to his Bones in no time.


	22. Ultimatum

**A/N - I apologize for waiting 2 days on this, but I've been distracted. I am almost as addicted to politics as I am to Bones, so Tuesday I couldn't get anything done on this. Then, I couldn't quite get into the groove with this chapter and there was a new episode to watch. I'm still not to the surgery yet, but it will come soon. I hope to have more to post tomorrow. As always, thank you for your reviews and please let me know what you think.**

Disclaimer - Bones belongs to Fox.

Chapter 22

Even though Booth didn't have all of the arrest warrants, he and Nichols headed back to Randolph County to bring Groves in for the murder of Watson. It was 5:30 before they got on the road and Booth knew that Caroline was working on the arrest warrant. As soon as he got it, he would throw Groves in one of the arresting team cars and he would head back to DC. He was thankful that they had pieced the case together; hopefully, he could get a confession out of him in the interrogation room in the Hoover on Sunday.

Nichols attempted to make small talk as they drove, but Booth wasn't very accepting of the conversation. He wasn't sure of her intentions in wanting him to go with her to West Virginia. She had been capable before. He couldn't imagine why she would be nervous now, but it was his investigation and couldn't allow it to be tossed out because he wasn't willing to go.

As Booth and Nichols made their way back to West Virginia, Angela helped Brennan back out to the car and took her home. Angela's best friend was really quiet so she decided to see if she could get any kind of conversation from her. "So, Bren, is Booth still staying at your house? I think that's really hot, by the way."

Brennan just shook her head at her friend and answered. "Yes, but he's staying in the guest room. I'm still sleeping on the couch. It's more comfortable and more accessible to everything, don't think anything of him staying." She tried to be clinical, but caught a glare from her friend, so she went on. "Booth has been great through all of this. He's overprotective, but I think it makes him feel good, so I've been trying to let him do the things he wants."

Angela just nodded with a smirk on her face. She knew her friends were getting closer and closer everyday. She decided to drop the subject until later and talk to her best friend about her own love life. "I still don't know how to act around Hodgins."

Brennan was slightly stunned. "I could still fire him if you want me to, but I feel that his science abilities exceed the norm and he is an asset to our team." Brennan really didn't know what to say.

"God, Bren, I told you once that I don't want you to fire him. It's just tha its' hard. We were so happy for such a long time." Angela was still driving, but was a little emotional. "I knew that if we didn't get married quickly, I'd end up backing out. I'm not sure that I will ever get the opportunity to love again. I messed up with Kirk and now I've messed up with Hodgins too."

Brennan was at a loss for words. She attempted to reassure her friend. "Ange, you could still go back to Hodgins if you wanted to. I'm sure he would be open to the possibility especially if he enjoyed the endorphin release the two of you shared."

Angela just nodded. She knew her friend's intentions. "I know, Bren, it's just that I don't want to hurt him again. He deserves better than me."

Brennan didn't have to struggle with words this time. "Don't ever say that. You are great and Hodgins, or any man for that matter, would be lucky to share even one moment with you."

Angela turned to face her friend, stunned to have received such encouragement. "Who are you, and what have you done with me my logical friend. What kind of pain meds are you on anyway?"

Brennan was confused at what pain medicine had to do with her advice. "Lortab and an anti inflammatory, but I haven't taken any in about eight hours, so the side effects are no longer present."

Angela just laughed, "Never mind, you're still the same Brennan."

The pair rode the rest of the way to Brennan's apartment. Once inside, Angela ordered some pizza while Brennan changed, took her medicine and settled onto her couch. She hated to admit it, but Booth was right, she was exhausted from the few hours she put in at the lab and would have to take it easy tomorrow if she wanted to be ready for her surgery on Monday.

Brennan rested a little bit and checked her email. After a short while, the pizza arrived. As Angela got the pizza ready, Brennan turned the television on to Investigation Discovery. "Brennan, do you always have to watch educational stuff. Can't you just watch soap operas and eat junk food like normal females?" The artist asked laughingly as she sat down.

Brennan was shocked. "Booth said the same thing."

Angela just laughed and said, "Booth is a smart man."

The pair sat in silence for a while, Brennan was watching a television show, but was starting to zone out and Angela was drawing in a sketch pad. At about 8:30, Angela noticed her friend was getting sleepy, so she decided she needed to talk. "Booth called Max and he can come over if you want him, or I can stay. It's up to you."

Brennan snapped out of her trance and spoke. "I'll be fine, you don't have to stay. I'm just going to sleep until I can wake up anyway." Brennan went to stand. She needed to put the ice in the circulation unit. She had left it off for too long anyway.

When Angela realized what she was doing, she stopped her. "Bren sit back down. I'll fill that weird thing up." Brennan conceded and sat back down while Angela worked in the kitchen.

"You know Brennan, I want to help you and so does Max. Plus, Booth would shoot us both if one of us doesn't stay with you. Booth told Max that I would stay, but he would probably like to stay with his daughter." Angela explained.

"You can stay Ange. I'm jsut going to go to sleep anyway, Dad would just get bored. I'll call him and tell him to come over for a while tomorrow." As Brennan spoke, Angela was hooking the cooler back onto the circulation unit and Brennan was working to get situated for the night.

Angela simply nodded and smiled at her friend and then pulled her into a hug then released her. "Are you okay with the surgery Monday? I know it's a big deal."

Brennan was already drifting, but her thoughts were still flowing. "I'm fine Ange, I've had surgery before and Booth will make sure I'm fine."

Angela was shocked at her friend's words and then looked down to notice that her eyes were closed. She was practically talking in her sleep. She thought, 'I didn't know she had surgery before and she would go crazy if she knew she told me that Booth would take care of her after surgery.'

By 10:00 the artist was in the guest bed. It was very early for her to be in bed, but she was still drawing in the sketch pad. She could entertain herself. He best friend needed to take it easy and Angela was just happy with the lack of struggle.

She just smiled and took care of a few things before heading to bed. She smiled when she had another scheming thought, 'If pain pills make her this open, and I can't wait until she's on an IV drip on Monday.'

Meanwhile, around 9:00, Booth and Nichols arrived at the hotel in Randolph County. They, including the arresting team that had followed them, checked into the hotel and waited for Caroline to call saying the warrant had been issued.

As Booth and Nichols walked up to their floor, Booth found his door first. He stuck his key in the door and realized that Nichols was just standing there. It was as if she was waiting for an invitation to enter. When the light on his door blinked, he opened it and said three words, "I'll call you." With that, he entered the room and shut the door behind him.

Nichols was slightly surprised when she her the extra lock flip over the door. She knew Booth was angry for having to come with her, but hopefully she would get an opportunity to talk with him once they made an arrest. They had worked together well so far and she wanted to continue working with him. He would see, eventually, that they made a good team.

When Booth entered his room, he just shook his head and went to lie down on the bed. He didn't even bother changing clothes. That way if he got the call, he could get to Groves' house faster. He didn't care if he had to drag Nichols out of her room, he would be back in DC within four hours of arresting Groves.

Booth slept, or sort of slept anyway. He was worried about his Bones. She was fine, but he knew she was still hurting and struggling with not being "able" at the same time. In some ways, he looked forward to her being repaired on Monday, but Bones always hated hospitals. He wasn't sure why, but he knew she hated it.

Finally at 3:30 am, Booth's cell phone rang. The warrant had been issued. He jumped off of the bed and flew out the door. He had his team ready by 4:00 am, including a very dazed Nichols, and they drove to Groves' large house on the outskirts of town.

Booth banged on his front door and after a few minutes, a staggering, sleepy Groves answered. Booth immediately Mirandized him and he was loaded into the cruiser by 5:00. Booth still didn't understand why Nichols wanted him there. Groves was a big guy, but he was crying like a baby. 'I will get a confession out of him by lunch,' Booth thought.

By 5:15, just less than two hours since Booth got the warrant, he and Nichols were back on the road. There would be no stopping on this trip. Booth just wanted to get back to DC.

About an hour into the trip, Nichols spoke. "So, don't you think that we worked well together on this case? I feel like we got into a good groove of responsibilities. It was nice."

Booth just mumbled at Nichols indiscriminately. He really wasn't in a good mood and certainly didn't need a pestering, new agent talking to him. He wondered if this was how Bones felt with all of those interns, especially Daisy Wick. He felt a little bad for giving Bones a hard time about breaking them in.

Nichols didn't speak for a little while longer, but finally about 45 minutes outside DC, she couldn't hold her thoughts any longer. "So, Dr. Brennan is having surgery on Monday, if she doesn't recover completely, I guess we can just stay partners."

Booth reacted immediately and slammed on the brakes of the SUV. Nichols didn't know what to think, but she knew she would have a bruise from her seat belt.

Booth looked at her with eyes of anger and passion then spoke. "Listen now because I am only going to say this one time. You are not nor will you ever be my partner. Bones is my partner and she will be 100 percent functional before you can get comfortable in her passenger seat. When she does, you had better tread lightly because I have seen her beat a gang leader to a pulp in the Hoover. She doesn't play around. The way I see it, you have a choice to make. You can either quit pulling the little needy stunts and work with me until Bones comes back in the field or you can pull one more stunt and I will have you assigned to desk duty in Anchorage during January."

Nichols was genuinely scarred. She had no idea that he would react in that manner. Obviously, he was not willing to give up his partnership with the scientist, no matter how ridiculous it was for an FBI agent and a scientist to be partners.

She also knew that Booth was highly respected in the FBI and could probably make good on his threat to have her sent to Anchorage. 'It's too cold there and I'm sure halter tops are rarely in season,' she thought.

Booth asked Nichols one simple question, "Do you understand or do I need to explain it again?"

Nichols voice was slightly shaky, but she managed to get and "I understand" out just before Booth put the car back in drive. Nichols remained quiet for the last, short leg of the trip.


	23. Interrogations

**A/N -- Sorry for the delay in getting this uploaded. I've had a lot going on, but hopefully this next week will be much less busy. My goal will be for a chapter a day, I'm off on Tuesday so it might be possible. At any rate, thanks for all the great reviews. I'm flattered that you all feel my story is good. I didn't expect that kind of response.**

Disclaimer - I don't own Bones or any of the characters.

Chapter 23

Booth and Nichols didn't speak until they arrived back at the Hoover Building. Booth was very angry and was working to remain cool. He thought previously that Nichols had some type of agenda and she had finally revealed it to him in the car. 'How could she even think that I would choose her over Bones for my partner?' He thought.

While he was angry, he also understood that he had to walk a fine line. He knew Cullen had bent the rules by putting Nichols with him. He probably would not be so accommodating if Nichols claimed he wasn't working with her or made some other type of accusation.

As the pair approached the interrogation room, Booth finally spoke. "I'm going to go in and interrogate this slime. You wait in observation and call Dr. Sweets. I want him to observe. Just wake him up if he's still sleeping and tell him to get here ASAP. He can play X-box later."

Nichols just nodded. She was still stunned at Booth's actions in the car. She figured she needed to tread very softly for the next little bit. She called Sweets who told her he would be there in 15 minutes.

Booth began with a very emotional Groves. Although he was emotional, he wasn't talking. It was as if he felt that Booth did not have enough evidence to tie him to the murder. Typically, that is when Bones would step in and explain how she tied him to the murder, but that couldn't happen now.

It was almost 10:00 am, but there was no way Booth was going to call her to come in, she needed to take it easy for the day anyway; she had a big day on Monday.

Even if he was willing to call her, she wouldn't be allowed to come into the interrogation room anyway. That part of the rule Booth thought was stupid. She would be fine in an interrogation room, the suspects had already been searched and all potential weapons were held outside of the room. The rule was in place in case a suspect became physical, but if that happened, he would be there. If someone tried to pull something with her in the room, he would take them down.

After two hours of interrogation, Groves still wasn't talking. He hadn't asked for an attorney though. Finally, Booth went out to talk to Sweets. "Sweets, I've got to get this guy to crack? Any ideas?"

The psychologist thought for a moment and responded. "Well, his body language certainly indicates that he is aware of his actions. He is defensive, though, and is not quite sure of what you know, so he is keeping his lips locked. Isn't Dr. Brennan going to come in? I think if she presented the evidence, he would crack."

Booth had forgotten that he hadn't given Sweets and update of their status and obviously Cullen hadn't briefed him. Sweets knew that Booth was working with Nichols but wasn't aware that Bones had been completely pulled. 'He probably thought she would be back in a few days or so and would still have partial clearance,' Booth thought. Most people knew the whole story because of rumors, but Sweets still wasn't widely accepted in the Hoover, so he wasn't in the loop on gossip. Booth sighed, he had to explain. "She can't come in. She's been pulled completely from field work until given the all clear from the doctor."

Sweets eyes grew wide, "Not even interrogations?"

Booth shook his head, "They're afraid someone might try to pull something on her. Cullen gave me Nichols so that I can still work with Bones when she comes back."

Sweets was a little surprised. He had seen the pair on Monday and just assumed Brennan would be out for just a couple of days to a week or two. He didn't think it would be serious enough to keep her out of interrogations. "So, how long is she out for?"

Booth shrugged his shoulders. "At least 6 months, maybe more. She's having surgery tomorrow. After that, she has to wait a couple of months before she can even try to walk or anything since they are putting in screws. It's going to take a lot of physical therapy to get her back to normal."

Sweets nodded. He knew that the pair would struggle with the situation. "I guess that means you won't be at our session on Monday?"

"Nope, we won't. We'll let you know when we are ready to start back." Booth explained to the therapist and then redirected his attention to the murderer in the interrogation room. "So what do we do now with him? I have to get a confession out of him."

Sweets didn't even have to think about his response. "You are going to have to figure out a way to present him with the scientific evidence against him. Based on his personality type and resolve, he won't fold unless he knows what's in your hand."

Booth thought silently for a few seconds and then knew what to do. He flipped open his phone and called Cam. "Cam, it's Booth. I need you to help interrogate Groves." He paused as she spoke. "I know I've never had you come before, but he's not confessing and Sweets said he needs to hear the scientific evidence. I'll mess up all the little details. It's all squint speak." He cut his eyes toward Sweets, a lack of uncertainty on his face. After a few more seconds, his face lit up. "Great, thanks Cam. I'll see you in an hour or so."

As soon as Booth hung up with Cam, he headed back into the interrogation room. He left Sweets with instructions to send Cam into the room as soon as she got there. Sweets and Nichols were standing in the viewing room, listening to Booth try and hammer Groves.

"So, what is it with Booth and Brennan anyway? Are they in a relationship?" Nichols asked casually, she figure Sweets had been asked those questions before and wouldn't be too suspicious by hearing them again.

Sweets nodded, the question was typical. "No, they aren't in an official relationship, but they share a very intense emotional connection with each other. I was initially assigned to evaluate their partnership for separation. The FBI higher-ups wanted to separate them after Booth arrested her father. It didn't take long to see that they are the most effective partnership the FBI has right now, maybe ever. They've endured a lot together"

Nichols nodded at Sweets' explanation. "Well, Booth and I worked well together on this case. From what he tells me, she's out for around 8 months. A lot can happen in that amount of time."

Sweets' jaw dropped and he laughed a little. "You can't seriously think you have a chance at partnering with Booth. He and Brennan are solid, try to come between them and you'll be the one to go down. I'm just giving you a heads up." Sweets wasn't really worried about the effect Nichols would have on the pair, but he was worried what they could do to her. He had experienced the wrath of Brennan after Booth's non death and didn't want to see that again.

"Thanks for the advice. You're a therapist, right, so you can't mention anything to them. We'll just see how everything plays out." Nichols was done with the conversation. She didn't know why, but partnering with Booth was her goal and she was a very driven person. She'd have to wait for the dust from this morning's encounter to blow over, but 8 months was a long time. Anything could happen.

After a few more minutes, Cam arrived. Sweets briefed her a little and she walked into the interrogation room with a big file. She and Booth worked together, showing Groves all of the evidence. After an hour or so, the burly construction man cracked and gave them a full confession. It was over and Booth was relieved.

Booth had Groves transferred to holding and needed to inform Caroline of the developments. He dialed her number and waited for her to pick up. "Caroline, we got a confession out of Groves. I'm going to get the paperwork filed today." Booth paused as she spoke. "No, just call me if you need anything. I'm going to be out through at least Wednesday, maybe longer." He paused again; she knew why he would be out. "Thanks, Caroline. I'll tell her." He began to smile as the prosecutor made her last statement. "I'm sure she's sorry that she allowed herself to be injured and can't work your cases for a few days. Bye, Caroline."

After hanging up with Caroline, Booth turned his attention to the trio of Nichols, Sweets, and Cam. They were waiting for further instructions. Booth was a little surprised that they hadn't scattered, so he gave instructions. "Cam, thanks for coming over. I'll call you if we need anything, but we should be good. Sweets, they will want to schedule an evaluation of this guy, I'm going to request that you do it. Nichols, you'll be the call person on this until I'm back at work, but I'll finish all the paperwork before I leave today. You shouldn't have to do anything after that." With that, Booth headed to his office. He was exhausted. It was just before 4:00 and he had only had 2 hours sleep the night before, but he had to wrap everything up so he would be free to take care of Bones for a few days.

Angela and Brennan had taken it very easy the entire day. It began with Angela waking up first around 9:00. She went into the living room to find a still sleeping forensic anthropologist. She quickly wrote a note and ran out to grab breakfast.

As she reentered the apartment, the rattle of the key must have woken Brennan because Angela found her half sitting up, rubbing her eyes. "Morning sunshine," the artist practically yelled.

Brennan rubbed her ears and sat up completely at the announcement. "Angela, do you have to yell, it's too early to be so excited?" Obviously, the anthropologist was a little cranky this morning.

Angela walked over, put a box of donuts on the coffee table, and handed her friend a coffee as she sat beside her on the couch. "Well, aren't we in a great mood this morning, I brought food. You should be happy." The artist put her arm around her best friend and pulled her into a hug.

Brennan just smiled and started removing herself from the cooling contraption. She didn't feel like she had slept at all. She had fallen asleep quickly, but it didn't last long. He thoughts were everywhere and she was hurting, not a good combination for sleep. "I'm sorry, Ange. I'm just still hurting and I didn't sleep too well. Just give me a little while to wake up. I'll be fine." She knew she had been short with her friend and hoped she wouldn't hold it against her.

Angela just smiled and walked into the kitchen as she talked. "Umm hmm, doesn't have anything to do with the resident FBI agent being gone for the night, I'm sure." The artist remarked as she walked back into the living room and handed Brennan her medicine.

Brennan popped the pills and took a sip of coffee before returning a comment. "Angela, that reasoning is completely illogical. Booth's presence doesn't make me sleep any better. I'm just slightly apprehensive about the surgery and, while the pain meds help, my injury is still painful enough to make me uncomfortable." Brennan did her best to give a clinical explanation to her friend.

Angela just laughed, "Whatever you say Bren, but if I were you, I would milk this injury and see what I could get out of Booth. He's certainly willing to provide any assistance you need, if you know what I mean." The artist was now wearing an ear to ear grin.

"Angela! It's way too early to try and play match maker and I have no clue what dairy products have to do with any of this." At her friend's remark, Angela sprayed coffee across the coffee table and erupted into laughter. Her best friend was still clueless, but grabbed a donut and looked on with confusion as Angela cleaned up her mess.

After finishing up breakfast, the two friends got showers and then settled into the living room. They were content to simply work quietly in the same room. They were close enough that they didn't have to constantly talk to enjoy their time together. Brennan was determined to finish a few more chapters of her book before she was completely doped up on pain killers for a few days. Angela worked on a few sketches she had been working on. She had neglected her art for a couple of years and really wanted to get back into it a little more. She knew a guy who owned a gallery locally and he was constantly trying to get her to do a show.

After a little while, Angela spoke. "Bren, what time is your dad coming by?" She knew Brennan would never ask her to leave, but she wanted to make sure they had alone time. They needed it.

Brennan responded. "Around 4:00, Russ might come with him. He was supposed to go to their house this morning. He's going to be here for dinner. He's coming to the hospital tomorrow, but he'll need to leave around 3:00 to be Emma and Haley home from school."

Angela nodded in response. It was only 2:00 so they had a couple of hours. "I wonder what Booth has on the case. I would have expected him to be back by now."

The pair was quiet for a few more minutes. So far, Angela had not brought up her friend's admission about the surgery or Booth from the previous night, but felt rather brave and her friend seemed pretty coherent right now. If she didn't want to tell her, she wouldn't.

"Hey Brennan, last night, you mentioned something about having surgery before. You've never mentioned it befor that. What happened?" Angela made eye contact with Brennan who looked surprised at the question.

'Crap,' thought Brennan. 'I must have said something as I was falling asleep. Drugs make me mumble things in my sleep. I hope I didn't say anything else.' She paused for a moment as she tried to figure out the best way to field the question.

She sighed and began to speak. "Angela, it's really not a big deal. It was a long time ago." She hoped her friend would be satisfied with that answer.

Angela looked at her friend with curious eyes. She obviously wanted an answer, so Brennan continued. "Angela, please don't get all emotional after I tell you. It's over now and it can't be changed."

Angela nodded and put her sketch book on the table to give her friend her undivided attention.

"Okay, so I told you how I went into foster care right after Christmas when I was 15, right?" Angela nodded. "Well, I learned very quickly that you don't complain in foster care if you want to stay in a good home. I was in my second home and it was only March. I hadn't been feeling well for a couple of days, but didn't say anything to the foster parents. They were nice, and I didn't want to mess things up with them. Anyway, I woke up one morning with severe cramps and nausea, but went on to school. After third period, I could barely walk and one of my teachers made me go to the nurse. I told her I would be fine, but she made me go." Angela had moved closer to her friend in a sign of support. She knew that these things were hard for Brennan. She reached and grabbed her friend's hand showing her that sometimes a touch is all it takes.

Brennan squeezed her friend's hand and went on with her story. "The nurse took one look at me and called my foster parents. I was running a high fever and practically doubled over in pain by that point. They obviously didn't want to fool with a sick foster kid because my case worker showed up and took me to the doctor. By the time I got there, I was throwing up and I knew what it was. My appendix was inflamed and needed to come out." Angela smiled inwardly, just like her friend to diagnose herself at 15 years old.

Brennan paused for a moment, she had never told anyone about the surgery. To her, it was a very painful admission. She didn't like talking about her time in foster care at all. "So, within a couple of hours of leaving school, I was taken up to surgery. When I woke up, I was alone in a hospital room. I could see in the little closet that my foster parents had repacked my stuff in the usual garbage bags and it had been crammed in the small closet space so that the doors wouldn't shut. I can honestly say that I have never felt so alone before or since that moment. I just wanted my mother to be there, hold me, and tell me everything would be okay, but no one ever came. I was alone" Brennan reached and wiped a lone tear from her face before going on. "I spent a few more days in the hospital and then my social worker picked me up and drove me to a new home. I did my best never to complain again. It was during that hospital stay that I decided that I would be successful at whatever I did so that I could take care of myself."

By the end of Brennan's story, Angela was crying. She hated that her friend had been alone. She knew that when they had met, her friend still felt alone. It wasn't until the last three years that she seemed to feel like she belonged and had people who loved her. It was amazing the difference Booth made for her best friend. 'If only she could see that,' she thought. She wiped her eyes and pulled her friend into another hug as she spoke. "Oh, Sweetie, I'm so sorry. I promise you that you will not be alone this time around or ever again. You have me, Booth, and your dad. When you wake up, we'll be there."

Brennan withdrew herself from the hug and said, "I know that Angela, I know. Thank you for putting up with me. I don't deserve a friend like you."

Angela just laughed; it wasn't the first time she had made that remark. "Bren, you deserve a whole flock of friends much better than me, but I'm glad it's me."

With that statement, the pair went back to work and waited for one of the two men in Brennan's life to arrive. Angela wasn't sure which one would be more protective of her. They had both killed to protect her before and would both do it again if needed.


	24. Memories and Fears

**A/N - Thanks again for all the kind reviews. I hope the story is still going well. Let me know what you like / dislike. So far so good on my one update per day. I hate to leave you guys hanging for more than 24 hours.**

Disclaimer - Bones belongs to Fox Broadcasting.

Chapter 24

Finally, after 3 hours of paperwork, Booth was finished. He was tired, but had renewed energy. He placed few reports in various people's boxes and he was gone.

It was 7:00 and he still had several things to do before he could go back to Bones' apartment. He planned on being there for a few days and needed to be ready for that. He knew it was just ankle surgery, but it was still major surgery. He tore his ACL in a basketball game his junior year in high school. Thankfully, it was in the last game of the basketball season and he was back to 100 percent before the following year's first game. He remembered how awful he felt after the surgery. As far as he knew, Bones had never had surgery before. If she had, it would have been during her foster care years. He knew very little about that side of her life.

Booth headed to his apartment where he packed another bag full of casual clothes. He strategically picked out t-shirts and socks he knew Bones didn't like. 'She may be hurt, but I can still mess with that overactive brain of hers.' he thought. He grabbed a couple of decks of cards, his IPOD, and a jacket. It was still mid September but it was starting to get cool in the evenings. He put his trash on the curb for pickup, took his mail inside the house, and stuck a few checks in envelopes to pay some bills.

With that, he was ready to leave. It was now 9:00 and he was ready to crash. He knew the next day would start early and be long.

He drove back over to her apartment. He thought about stopping for dinner but decided against it. 'I'm getting as bad as Bones about skipping meals.' He thought to himself and smiled. He knew he would just grab something at her place. He hadn't stocked her pantry for nothing.

He parked and noticed that her dad's truck was still in front of her building. He was thankful she wasn't alone. He walked in to find Max and Russ watching a baseball game and his Bones was asleep in her reading chair, laptop awkwardly positioned on her lap. Max spoke first. "Hey Booth. I hope you locked another scum bag up for a lifetime." Many would think that Max was describing himself, but his crimes were crimes of protection not violence.

Booth just smiled and shook both of the men's hands. "Yeah Max, I got a confession out of him. I'm just glad it's finished."

Max nodded. "There's some left over pizza in the fridge if you want it. Tempe didn't eat her share of it."

Booth was a little bothered by that statement and had to prod. "Was she not feeling well?"

Max shook his head, "No, she was just set on finishing a couple of chapters in her book and didn't take the time to eat. Angela said she had worked on it for a long time before we got here. If you ask me though, she's nervous about the surgery. She didn't stop working until she fell asleep. Angela picked up that last prescription for her after she left. When she changed clothes, she took one of the pills and was out within 30 minutes." Max looked at his daughter.

Booth opened the fridge, grabbed the pizza and a few beers and sat at the counter. He handed both Max and Russ one as they sat at the counter while he ate. "Thanks for coming by, I'm sure she enjoyed the company."

Russ spoke next. "I'm not sure you could classify her as company today. She was really quiet and lost in her thoughts. That's Tempe though, deal with things on the inside first and if she ever gets around to it, she'll talk about it."

Booth just nodded. "You really think she's nervous?" He directed his question toward Max.

Max just nodded, "I do. Has she ever told you that she's had surgery before?"

Booth was a little taken by the statement. "No, when did that happen."

Russ answered first. "When she was first in foster care, she had her appendix out."

Booth's heart sank. He knew that she would have been alone for the surgery. What he wasn't sure of was how Max and Russ knew about the surgery. Booth gave him a confused look.

"Oh, even though Christine and I left her, we still knew what was going on in her life. There was one particular teacher at her high school that I knew since childhood. I gave him a particular payphone number and he called once a week. We would drive an hour sometimes to answer his call and made sure to change the number evry couple of weeks. He kept me up to date on what she was doing until she graduated from high school. His weekly call happened to be on the day that she got sick adn he told me that she had surgery." Max's eyes were tearing up as he told the story.

"It was all I could do to keep Christine from running into that hospital and grabbing her up. I had to convince her that it wasn't safe. Initially, she wanted to leave and I wanted to stay, but she missed the kids so much. I regret what I had to do everyday and especially what it did to Tempe. I remember who she was before we left and the fire inside her. When I came back, the fire was still there, but it had been redirected." Booth just nodded. He knew what Max meant. He had seen the pictures of her before her parents left. In her eyes, you could see passion for life and love. Now, her eyes held a passion for truth, justice, and victims. It was a very subtle but stark contrast.

Russ finally spoke. "When they left, Tempe changed. She didn't want to believe anyone or accept what happened. She just wanted to go to school, come home, and study. I couldn't help her. I left hoping someone would love her and she would feel it and accept it. I keep up with what was going on with her, but stayed out of her life. I did come to her high school and college graduations though. She never saw me"

Booth had never seen this side of the Keenan / Brennan men. He knew they were remorseful for their actions, but honestly wasn't sure that there was another solution. He just looked both of them in the eyes and said, "She is a strong, wonderful person. All of those things made her who she is, and I wouldn't change her for anything."

"Thanks Booth." They said in unison. They both stood to leave, Max speaking next. "I'll be there tomorrow; I'm not going to leave her alone for this one." He patted Booth on the shoulder and left.

As they walked out the door, Booth gave them a simple "Thanks."

Booth straightened up a little and then decided to deal with the still sleeping Bones sitting in the chair. If the doctor was trying to relax her, he was definitely successful. She was completely zonked, she looked like she wasn't even thinking. He had never seen that look on her face before. He glanced at the prescription package Angela had laid on the counter. Dormicum was the name on the label. He had never heard of it before, so he read a little bit of the paper they always put with prescriptions. He snickered at all of the side effects, mental confusion, impaired coordination, impaired reflexes, and many more. 'Bones is not going to like this medicine,' he thought to himself.

He put the medicine down, carefully unhooked her computer, and placed it on the coffee table. He pulled the throw blanket that was covering her off and then took a look at her ankle. She must have unwrapped it when she got ready for bed. He winced at the sight. It still looked awful, no better in the week and a half since she hurt it. He was thankful that tomorrow she would begin to heal. He hated watching her hurt and hated even more that she couldn't do what she loved, work.

He contemplated his next move. He didn't want to wake her, but she'd be stiff if he let her sleep in that position all night. He also worried that he would hurt her if he jarred her too much; since her foot was bare, there was no support. He decided that he needed to risk his life and move her. He carefully picked her up and she sighed. He thought she might wake up, but she only moved enough to place her head on his shoulder. In that position, he could smell her hair.

He paused briefly to take it all in. He loved how she smelled. She didn't smell fruity like most women; her smell was clean, fresh, and elegant. She didn't need to cover it up with the smells of fruits and flowers he couldn't pronounce.

He carefully placed her on the couch and ever so carefully elevated her injured leg. He hooked the cooling unit back up and strapped her in. She still hadn't moved. He started to place a simple kiss on her forehead when she spoke without opening her eyes.

"Booth," she began. "What was it like?"

The FBI agent was completely lost at her statement. "What was what like, Bones?" He really had no clue what she was talking about.

She finally opened her eyes slightly. "What was it like when you woke up after you were shot?"

Booth's heart sank. They had never really talked about what happened. He knew that it was awful for her during those two weeks. He didn't know whether he should answer her or assume it was her drug induced state making her ask the questions and ignore her.

He opted to be patient and let her drive the conversation. He gently lifted her head and shoulders and sat with her on the couch. As he had done several other nights, he carefully massaged her shoulders and waited for her to speak again. "Booth," she asked groggily. "When you woke up, what happened?"

He knew he had to answer her, "Well, when I first woke up, all I really felt was pain and fear. I remembered being scared. I didn't know what exactly happened to me until a little while later. I only remembered feeling a burning in my chest and then I was on the floor in that bar. I remembered seeing your eyes and feeling like someone was standing on my chest. I couldn't catch my breath." Booth was doing his best to recount the events, but honestly, he was kind of fuzzy about the details, probably like she would be after this conversation ended.

She nodded her head slightly and said, "Collapsed lung, you had all the symptoms. You were slightly cyanotic, your breathing was labored, and I could feel air exiting your chest."

Booth just shook his head and laughed. "Bones, you are high on drugs right now and you are diagnosing an injury I received almost six months ago." He looked at her serious eyes and stopped kidding. "Yeah, though, you're right, my lung was collapsed and they struggled to get it reinflated for a little while. Luckily the bullet passed straight through and missed my major arteries and my shoulder blade."

"Scapula," she interjected, eliciting a grin from Booth.

Booth realized that the conversation had veered away from her original question, so he tried to guide it back. "Anyway, I guess when I woke up I expected to see what I saw when I passed out, your face, but you weren't there. I was really confused at first and then Cullen finally came in."

He went on and told her how Cullen had concocted the plan as soon as he found out Booth had been shot but would be okay. He finished up by saying, "Anyway, I gave him my list and he let me call Parker but not you. He said that he had told you about my "death" himself and that you seemed fine. Sweets was supposed to call you that morning and let you know. I made Cullen guarantee me." Booth became a little angry at the memory.

"I remember feeling like crap from all the meds, but they quickly moved me to a secure military hospital. I had to get a couple of units of blood. Apparently, I lost a good bit." Booth looked at Brennan's face and watched some of the color wash away. He knew that she had been soaked in his blood and he hadn't seen that shirt or her jeans since.

Brennan just nodded, but chose not to speak. At her silence, Booth continued. "I remember watching a lot of television, but mostly I felt alone. I wanted to see you and Parker, but I had to wait. I thought that at my funeral, you would be happy to see me. Man, I couldn't have been more wrong." He had a strange grin on his face with his last statement. "You've got one heck of a right hook, I'm just glad you threw that fake arm at those old women instead of hitting me with it."

Brennan smiled slightly through her fuzzy thoughts. "If I had been thinking clearly, I would have hit you with it. I was just surprised to see my dead partner fighting with some guy at his funeral. I'm sure you can appreciate my alarm and lack of good judgment."

Booth smiled and said, "Bones, I'm really sorry. I thought you knew, I made sure you were supposed to find out. If I would have known that they wouldn't tell you, I would have never agreed to do it." He meant it, he didn't intend to hurt her and felt guilty every day for his actions during those two weeks.

She just sighed and said, "It's okay Booth. That's what we do, right? We catch bad guys. You were just catching the bad guy." She hadn't asked Booth the question to make him feel guilty. She was just wondering if he felt alone after he woke up. As much as she hated to admit it, she didn't want to go to the hospital for surgery. She feared waking up alone just as she did as a 15 year old kid.

It was as if Booth could read her thoughts. "Bones," he said. "I know you are nervous about tomorrow, but you will not be alone. I'll be there, Angela will be there, and your dad will be there. You are not alone through this. I've got your back."

Brennan just nodded. She knew that, but apparently, the medicine was making her more emotional and needy than she usually was. She didn't like it, but took comfort in knowing that Booth knew her concerns.

"Thanks Booth," was the simple phrase she uttered as she sighed and closed her eyes again. She didn't fall asleep immediately, she just reveled in the fact that she was there with Booth and he was taking care of her. He was playing with her hair again. It felt nice and she drifted off to sleep.

Booth listened as her breathing went from her typical controlled breathing to the smoother breathing of sleep. When he was sure she was out he spoke. "Bones, I promise you, you will never be alone again." He gently placed a kiss on her head and slid out from under her head. He pulled the blanket over her shoulders and flipped off the lights.

He glanced at the clock and noticed it said 12:30 am. It had been three and a half hours since he got there and he had spent most of his time talking to Max and Russ or Bones. He was thankful for the time, but they would need to leave by 5:30 to get to the hospital by 6:00. The 4:30 wake up call would come really early. 'At least Angela must have packed a bag for her,' he thought. He was grateful they wouldn't have to mess with that at 5:00 am.

With those final thoughts, Booths disappeared back into the guest room. He was exhausted; he had only slept 2 hours in since Friday night. He could sleep now and when he knew Bones was okay tomorrow, he could take a nap, not before then. As the FBI agent lay down for the night, he said a simple prayer of protection for his Bones. She was important to so many, she had to be protected.


	25. Sedation and Favors

**A/N - Thanks again for the great reviews and the alerts. I'm glad you all still like it. I wanted to clarify something again. I hope everything still seems realistic for you all. I have done a lot of research on the different aspects of the story and work hard to keep my two favorite characters in character while still adding some fluff. Hopefully its a good mix.**

Disclaimer - I am not associated with the TV show Bones in any way.

Chapter 25

When the alarm sounded at 4:30, Booth rolled over and let out a sigh. He didn't know if he should be happy, concerned, or sad. He really wanted her to start healing, but hated that it had to come through surgery. He was pretty sure she had felt enough vulnerability over the last few days. As he was lost in his thoughts, a smile rose to his face. 'Those poor nurses don't know what they are getting themselves into by putting on their scrubs today' he thought.

The humorous thought was enough to get him going. He got up and got the day started. As quietly as possible, he showered, dressed, and started the coffee pot. He thought about not starting it since she couldn't have any, but decided to anyway. He was working off of about 6 hours of sleep in the last two days.

She didn't budge at the smell of the coffee. At 5:00, he woke decided to wake her. He walked over to her and swept a few displaced hairs out of her eyes. "Bones," he rubbed her shoulder as he spoke. "You need to wake up and get a shower if we are going to make it to the hospital on time."

She slowly rolled off her side and winced slightly as she sat up and moved her leg. He could tell she wasn't in a great mood because she unhooked the cooling unit, grabbed her crutches, and made her way to her bedroom without speaking.

Booth straightened up the living room a little. He put the blankets and pillows back in the hall closet and put her medicine up in the cabinet. He figured she would need to go back to her bed when she came home from the hospital.

He packed her laptop in its case to go with them. He knew she wouldn't be able to make it 24 hours without it even if she was high on painkillers. He smiled as another opportunistic thought rose in his mind. 'Maybe I can convince her to let me read her new book before she sends it to the publisher this time. If she realizes she was high when she wrote it, she'll need an objective eye. Man, I sound like a squint; I've got to go to a gun show or something soon.'

Thirty minutes later, a very plainly dressed Bones came back in the living room. He handed her the sedative and a very small glass of water. She took the pill and walked toward the door. He was a little stunned, she still hadn't spoken, but figured she was processing her thoughts, was in pain, and was still a little out of it.

He grabbed her bag and laptop and held the door open for her. They made their way out to the SUV. He placed her bags into the back seat and watched as she carefully got into the SUV on her own. He hated all of this for her but was proud of her for following the instructions of the doctor, for the most part anyway. He was pretty sure doing dishes wasn't on the doctors list of approved activities.

In the short, 15 minute drive to the hospital, she had already fallen asleep. He was glad. At least in her sleep she wasn't hurting or worrying. When they pulled up, he woke her up and she finally said a few words. "I'm awake. Let's get this over with."

She allowed him to help her out of the SUV. They walked inside and went to the nurses' station on the orthopedic floor just as instructed on Friday. Within 15 minutes, she was in a preoperative room wearing a hospital gown. Getting the gown on was quite an experience, but she managed. That was one thing she would not ask for help in doing.

She half rested, half thought over the next few minutes. Booth couldn't stand the silence any longer and finally spoke. "Your dad is coming a few minutes before seven and I think Angela is coming by around lunch as well. She wanted to be here when you woke up."

Brennan focused on him, realizing that he was probably as nervous as she was and deserved a little attention from her. "I know, but I don't really see the need in it. I'll probably be out of it for the rest of the day anyway." At that statement, he knew she was nervous, so he grabbed her hand.

"Bones, it's just what families do." He didn't feel like he needed to elaborate further. She was obviously feeling a little insecure about everything and he hoped the simple admission would be enough.

As soon as he finished his statement, there was a knock at the door. Jameson and another younger doctor entered. "Temperance, this is Dr. Mark Gentry. He will be your anesthesiologist today. Dr. Gentry this is Temperance Brennan and her" he stumbled a little at the next part, "_work_ _partner_, Agent Booth." Booth eyed the doctor a little at the introduction, but remained quiet.

The younger doctor shook both of their hands and pulled up a stool right beside Brennan, flipping open her chart. "Alright, let's get started with this." Brennan gave him a nod, she was fighting to stay awake and he could tell.

"So, you already took a sedative this morning, correct?" She nodded again. "Well, that should have you sleeping soundly in a few more minutes. After that, the nurse will come in and start an IV for you. It's only going to be fluids to start. When we get you in the OR, we'll give you an additional IV sedative to keep you 'out' and do a nerve block. I'm going to use Ropivacaine for the block." He briefly explained the procedure and then made a few more notes on her chart and flipped through a couple of the pages.

"I'm going to be upfront with you. Jameson said he told you that they are going to be working with a large portion of you lower leg. I'm going to try to give you an effective block, but due to the size of the region they will be operating on, it may not be sufficient. If you show any signs of pain or sensation during the surgery, I'll convert you to general anesthesia immediately."

Brennan spoke again, "I understand. I've done a little research on the nerve blocks and I'm fairly comfortable with the procedure. It at least will help with pain management afterwards even if I end up needing general."

Dr. Gentry smiled at her intelligent remarks and nodded. "Yes, it will, but we'll go ahead and put you on a morphine drip after the surgery as well. The nerve block will wear off in 12 - 18 hours." It was obvious that Brennan didn't like the idea of the morphine drip, but didn't complain.

He started with a different line of questioning. Asking her about when she had last eaten, if she was feeling well, and his last question shocked both Booth and Brennan. "Have you ever been under general anesthesia before?"

Brennan, who was still fighting sleep, answered very clinically. "I had an emergency appendectomy when I was 15, but I really don't remember my response to the surgery. I can tell you that painkillers and sedatives typically make me nauseous and dizzy."

Booth thought, 'way to completely avoid answering a question Bones,' but it seemed the doctor was satisfied with her answer.

Jameson finally spoke; he had waited patiently through the exchange. "Dr. Gentry will be present throughout the surgery as will my partner, Dr. Jones, and I. Do either of you have any more questions?"

Brennan just shook her head and Booth decided to ask his questions like any good interrogator. "What will happen when you finish?"

The stately doctor nodded and answered. "We'll take her up to recovery for at least an hour or so in order to monitor her heart rate and other vitals. After that, we'll let her go up to a regular room. I'm still planning on keeping her overnight for pain management mostly." Booth just nodded.

Booth asked one other question, "When can I-we see her." He really meant I, but knew that her father would be there as well.

The doctor just smiled and looked over at a now sleeping Brennan. "As soon as we get her to recovery and comfortable, we'll come get you. I honestly don't expect her to have any trouble. She's definitely strong. She'll heal fast. I would say that if it wasn't for the high ankle injury, she wouldn't even need this surgery right now. I just think it is wise to go ahead and fix her lateral ligaments since we are in there anyway. It will save her recovery time and pain in the long run." Booth nodded, he completely understood and it was what Bones wanted. She wanted this drama finished and wanted to be 100 percent not 90 percent.

"Thanks, her family and I will be here in the waiting room." With that approval from Booth, the doctors stood to leave.

In a few minutes, a young nurse came in and started prepping Brennan. "She's out cold?" She commented.

"You should consider yourself lucky. She's pretty feisty when she's coherent." Booth just smiled as he spoke.

She put an IV in her left hand. Booth was thankful for that. He knew she would fuss if it got in her way of writing or working on her laptop. She then took her temperature in her ear, her blood pressure, and listened to her chest.

When the nurse finished, she shot Booth a smile and said, "Everything looks good. Dr. Jameson is the best orthopedic we have. He'll get her patched up. That ankle looks pretty nasty right now." The nurse had removed the blanket covering her to make a few observations. She quickly replaced it.

"Thanks, she's ready to get it fixed." Booth shot the nurse a smile and she left, leaving him to his thoughts.

Around 6:50, Max came in. "Booth, how's she this morning?"

Booth pulled himself from his thoughts and answered. "She's been quiet; the meds have her pretty well out of it. The doctors have already come in and she's ready to go. They should be getting her anytime now." Booth explained a few more details as Max gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead.

As with most hospitals, they came and got Brennan thirty minutes late. Since she was on the rolling hospital bed, they didn't even wake her. Booth looked at Max and contemplated his next move. He wanted so badly to kiss her, but didn't know how Max would react. He chose to let the cat out of the bag, wiped some of her hair off her face and placed a kiss on her cheek.

Max's eyes grew wide, but he didn't speak. He just gave Booth a nod of approval and a simple 'I won't say anything,' look. He knew if he did, Booth would loose his respect. He understood their partnership well enough to know that if he lost respect of Booth, he would loose that of his daughter as well. He wasn't willing to risk it.

The odd pair of FBI agent and accused felon walked out of the small hospital room and into the waiting area. They shared the same thoughts and concern for the person just wheeled back to surgery. They both wanted her happiness and safety. It was their life long goal.

After a short wait, Max spoke first, "Booth?" He wasn't sure if the FBI man was asleep or just lost in his thoughts. He had his head leaning on the wall behind him and his eyes were shut.

"Yeah Max," Booth responded. Obviously, he was thinking. He couldn't sleep even though his body was tired.

"Did they say how long it would be?" Max asked.

Booth gave him a little more of his attention and turned to face him. "They didn't really say, it could be anywhere from three to four hours. They have a pretty good idea of what they need to do, but they're going to scope out some scar tissue and might need to make a second incision to get the bones in her leg aligned correctly." Booth told Max everything that he knew.

Max made a painful face as Booth explained. "I'm going to go get some breakfast and coffee at the diner across the street. You want anything?"

Booth thought for a minute. He was actually hungry and could use a shot or ten of coffee. "Thanks Max," he started to reach for his wallet as he said, "Just bring me back a very large coffee and something with meat in it."

Max stopped him from getting his wallet and nodded. "I'll be back shortly."

Booth went back to his thoughts. He was concerned with the health of his partner, but knew she was strong in that respect. She'd be fine. He was more focused on figuring out a strategy to use to tell her how he really felt. He wanted more from her. The line was stupid. He put it there to protect her and now he realized that he didn't want a line to protect her. He could take care of that better himself.

He knew that he had to be very careful, but that he had to do it at some point. He didn't know how or when he would tell her, but he would find the right time. It would jump out at him. He'd just use his gut and let her open the door to her heart when she was ready.

He thought back to their first interactions together. She had come a long way since then. She was no longer completely closed off, but could still withdraw if she felt like she needed to. He had to avoid making her withdraw.

He knew one thing for sure, if she felt like a relationship would force them to give up their partnership, she would never take the step. He knew all of the FBI policies about partners in relationships, but Bones wasn't FBI. He didn't know what the rules were, but he knew who to ask. He took out his phone and made a phone call he thought he would never make. He dialed, waited, and then spoke. "Caroline, it's Booth. I need a favor."


	26. The Wait

**A/N - I hope you are still enjoying the story. I am really enjoying your reviews and am flattered by all the alerts and favorite requests. You guys are great readers. Please continue to let me know what you think. I'm still taking it slow and hope the pacing and characters are still realistic. So far so good on my one update per day. :-)**

Disclaimer - Bones belongs to Fox.

Chapter 26

Booth listened on his phone as Caroline complained about Booth calling her so early in the morning. At least it was effective in calming a few of his nerves about the phone call. "_What do you need anyway, Cher? I thought that genius partner of yours was having surgery today, didn't expect to hear from you until later in the week."_

Booth took a deep breath and decided to tell her. "Listen Caroline, I was wondering if you could do a little under the table research for me." He paused, she interrupted his remarks. "No, Caroline, there aren't any Keenan's out there who need our help. Max is it. I just hoped you could see what the FBI policy about agents entering into relationships with contractors."

Booth finished his statement and waited on a response but heard nothing. He looked at his phone to make sure the call hadn't dropped and then spoke again. "Caroline, you there?"

He had only heard Caroline sound so dazed one time before, after their mistletoe kiss the previous Christmas. "_Yeah, Cherie, I heard you. I'm just not sure that I heard you correctly. Are you seriously asking me to determine whether or not you and the leader of that brain trust can enter into a romantic relationship and still remain partners?"_

"Yeah Caroline, that's what I'm asking, but please keep this under the radar. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, I just need to know if it is even possible. I trust you." Booth was truthful. He was confused and obviously had a lot of decisions to make, but he had to start somewhere.

Caroline laughed on the other end of the line; she had obviously gained her composure. "_Alright, cowboy, I'll look into it for you. Just don't give me a hard time when I prosecute her after she beats you to a pulp when you tell her."_

Booth just shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Thanks Caroline, but aren't you going to ask for something in return?"

Her answer showed that she was more of a romantic that he thought. "_No, this one's on me, cher."_ With that, she hung up.

Booth looked at the clock. It read 8:30. Booth sighed and put his head back on the wall. He thought about his Bones and wondered how she was doing at that very moment. They still had at least 2 more hours to wait. He didn't like waiting.

Meanwhile, at the Jeffersonian, the squints were starting their work day. They were all a little quiet and reserved, especially Angela. Hodgins noticed that her thoughts were elsewhere and decided to talk to her. "Hey Ange, you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm just a little worried about Brennan. She'll be fine, but I still worry about her. She has a lot of issues with surgery; I just want her to be okay." She was chewing on her nails a little as she spoke, a sure sign that she was nervous.

Hodgins got brave and pulled her into a hug. "Listen Ange, she'll be fine. She's has Booth there with her and you will be there when she wakes up. She is not alone this time."

Angela pulled out of the hug and looked at him with confused eyes. Had Brennan told him about her surgery? She knew they shared a lot when they were buried by the Gravedigger, but was still surprised. "Thanks Jack. Would you mind going to the hospital with me when I go?"

Jack just gave her his classic smile and said, "Sure Ange, whatever you want." He was careful not to get his hopes up too high. He hoped she was going to come back to him. Maybe this was the start.

At that same time, Brennan was lying on an operating table. Her body was covered in a warming blanket. Her injured leg was elevated fairly high and apparently clamped at a 90 degree angle. They had been a little slow getting started. When they fully sedated her, her body temperature dropped slightly and they wanted to make sure she was warming before going ahead with the nerve block.

Dr. Gentry had finished the block and gave Jameson and his partner the okay to start. They decided to go ahead and scope out any scar tissue they found around the entire ankle first and then repair the ligaments. Last, they would insert the screws to repair the high ankle / syndesmotic injury.

Jameson used a fluoroscope and worked diligently removing any signs of Brennan's three previous ankle injuries. As he did, he was surprised that she was still as active as she was. She must have experienced pain at some points, but she was tough. As he worked his way toward her high ankle with the scope, her heart rate increased slightly, enough to get Gentry's focus. Gentry called for them to stop. He left his station by her head and had a nurse take over his charge. He decided to do a short nerve test and was able to elicit some responses from her when he probed. "She needs to go under general. She's responsive to pain and I really can't give her anymore to block the nerves."

Jameson and partner nodded and backed off as Gentry and his team placed a tube down Brennan's throat and put her under general anesthesia. Gentry finished up and made sure she was completely stable before giving the surgeons the okay to continue. "She's good to go." He said and they went back to work.

Jameson only said a couple of words while he started working again. "She's not going to be happy about the general, but it's better than stressing her body from the pain."

Booth was completely oblivious to what was going on in the operating room. He could only imagine what they would be doing to his Bones, but wouldn't let himself focus on it.

Max returned with breakfast around 9:00. "Sorry it took so long, it was really crowded."

"That's fine Max; I'm not really that hungry. I'm thinking too much. I think your daughter's brain is making me too much of a squint." Booth smiled as he spoke.

Max nodded. "Well Booth, I think you have had a pretty big influence on her as well. I'm really surprised that she lets you take care of her the way she does." Max really did like that Booth took care of his daughter. He smiled at Booth and continued. "When Christine and I left, we prayed that she would find someone that would take care of her. I just hate that it took 15 years of her being alone to get there."

By the time Max finished, Booth had stopped eating. "Max, I have told Bones before that she is special and I think she is beginning to see it. Most people think she is cold and distant, but she's just the opposite once you break down all those protective barriers."

The pair was silent for a few minutes and Max finally spoke. "So Booth, when are you planning on telling her that you are in love with her?"

Booth nearly spewed his coffee. He really didn't expect Max to say anything about it. "I don't know Max. She's Bones and I don't want to scare her off. I also don't want to do it while she is on pain killers. I want her to make a good decision. I also have to make sure that our partnership will remain in tact if we do date. Bones is too much of a justice seeker to risk our partnership for pleasure." Booth was truthful with Max. He didn't see him as a threat. He honestly believed that he and Russ had her best interest in mind even if it did hurt her.

The pair fell silent again and went into their own thoughts. Booth was thinking through so many things that Bones might say to avoid their relationship and Max was thinking about ways to continue to earn his daughter's trust.

Another hour passed in the operating room. Jameson had just finished up scoping out all the scar tissue and started working on the lateral ligament repair. "Looks like it's going to be fairly tight, but I think we can get them all attached without using any of her tendons. Her ATFL is going to be the biggest problem. It's snapped right in the middle. Her CFL is plenty long though. Looks like it completely detached at the talus, but stretched a lot before finally giving." Jameson gave a few instructions as he poked around.

"I had wondered what her exact mechanism of injury was since she did this in karate and not football or skiing." The doctor poked around a little farther. "It looks like she drove her foot down at the heel into the mat. She must have twisted and rolled at the same time. Her lateral ligaments must have snapped and allowed the syndesmotic ones snap as she fell. It's nasty." The others in the room observed as Jameson pointed out the points of injury on the magnifier. "Her PTFL is a clean tear too. Should be easy to tighten back there, she would have definitely been in here for surgery eventually." The team went back to work repairing her damaged ligaments.

Booth and Max waited together until Angela and Jack came in around 10:30. "Hey guys. Any news yet?"

Booth just shook his head. "No, not yet, should be any time now though. They took her at 7:30 and said it could last three to four hours. Hopefully he'll come down soon."

Jack sat by Booth and Angela by Max. Jack decided to ask Booth some questions about Nichols. "Booth," he paused as he waited on his attention. "What's with Nichols? She was asking Ange all kinds of questions about you and Dr. B and then asked me a ton of questions about how agents and the Jeffersonian worked together before you two were partners."

Booth just sighed. "She's something else. I think she wants to stay partners with me after Bones comes back. I had to set her straight yesterday morning."

Hodgins laughed a little. "Brennan is not going to like that. Nichols needs to watch where she sticks her nose. Brennan will take her down, physically, even with a bad ankle."

Booth just laughed a little. He really didn't want to talk about it. He hoped what he had said to Nichols would be enough to keep her at bay, but figured it wouldn't.

Around 11:00, Angela came over by Booth and didn't speak. She just shot him a smile and put her arm around his shoulder, giving him a slight squeeze. She knew he was nervous and didn't want to talk. Sometimes a simple touch is enough.

By that time, the team in surgery had completed her lateral ankle repair and moved on to her tibia / fibula problem. "I'm really surprised she didn't snap that fibula in a few places. An action strong enough to cause a tear like that would have provided enough force to snap it." Dr. Jones explained as they looked at the magnifier again. "Jameson, what do you think, her bones are strong, but small. I'm thinking we should use a plate to keep her fibula from splintering." Jones stepped aside to allow Jameson to look at his view.

Jameson nodded and responded. "I agree. That's the last thing we want to have to deal with. It'll just make taking the screws out a little more invasive, but it'll be fine."

The two doctors worked diligently to try and close the space between her lower leg bones so that they could insert the screws. They used a metal clamp to try and alleviate the diastasis, but were unsuccessful. Jameson spoke. "We're going to have to make another incision. There must be too much inflammation or scar tissue keeping the bones apart." The team nodded and went back to work.

Jones grabbed a scalpel and made the incision at the lowest portion of her calf, just above her ankle. He and Jameson worked together to dissect the muscles and thin fascia to expose the bones from that angle. "There's some additional scar tissue here. She's injured it at some point." Jameson said as he began to remove it.

Within a few minutes, the two surgeons had her tibia and fibula clamped together and correctly position on top of her talus. The final portion of the surgery was the insertion of the screws. Booth would have squirmed if he heard the drill placing metal into his partner's bones.

The screws were inserted and the doctors quickly took a few x-rays and placed them on the light board in the operating room. Jameson and Jones looked at the films and agreed that their work was done. They then closed her two large incisions and placed a simple metal mold onto the back of her calf and under her heel to keep her ankle joint at a 90 degree angle. They wrapped it securely with a soft cast that still allowed for ice to be used.

Jameson checked the clock and recorded the total operation time, five hours and nine minutes. They had a couple of delays, so the surgery lasted longer than expected. They then had the team transfer her to a gurney, begin to wake her up, and get her to the recovery room so they could make sure she was stable and remove the breathing tube.

In the waiting room by 11:30, Booth was pacing. He knew it had been four hours. He was a worrier and worried that something had come up. What if her blood pressure dropped or something worse happened? It was just ankle surgery, but lots of things could go wrong. He kept pacing.

Finally, around 12:15, Angela stopped him. "Booth, you have to stop pacing, if something was wrong, they would come tell us. She'll be fine."

Jack looked on and found it amusing that he said similar words to Angela just that morning. He knew she was one of the few people who could help Booth calm down.

Max, who had been waiting patiently, spoke as well, "Booth, your going to burn a hole in that carpet, she's fine. She's strong. I'm sure they are just running late or taking their time."

Booth sighed and plopped back into a chair. "You're right, but I need to know for myself." Max nodded; he understood.

Booth was practically a walking zombie by that point. He was still running on little sleep, but his thoughts were racing really fast. He had to know that she was okay.

Finally, at 1:40, Dr. Jameson entered the waiting room and walked over toward Booth. He immediately said "She's fine," and then went to shake Max, Hodgins, and Angela's hands. Booth quickly introduced them and hoped Jameson would offer a report sooner rather than later.

Jameson nodded and began. "She's fine. We had a little trouble with her body temperature dropping to begin. We still have warming blankets on her. As Gentry explained this morning, we were right, the ankle block wasn't enough. We had to put her under general about 30 minutes in. Her throat will be sore and she will probably feel a little sick, but it shouldn't last long. We removed quite a bit of scar tissue, so that took a while. We also ended up needing a second incision like we mentioned." He paused for a moment to allow for any questions. There were none.

"We went ahead and put a plate under the two screws to prevent bone splintering. They are getting her comfortable right now and taking the tube out. One of you can go up to see her in about 10 minutes." The doctor was smiling pleasantly. "You can walk up with me. I'm going to check on her."

Booth looked at Max and Angela. He wanted to go, but figured Max needed to be there for his daughter. Max interrupted his thought. "Go ahead Booth. She'll be expecting to see you when she wakes up. Just take care of her."

Booth gave him one simple nod and followed Jameson. He hesitated slightly at the door to the recovery room. She was hooked to several monitors and looked pale and small. Jameson saw his hesitation and said, "She's fine, she's not hurting."

There was a nurse sitting on a stool by her bed. Jameson looked over her shoulder and checked the monitors. He looked at Booth. "She will probably wake up in a little while. The nurse will stay close by the entire time. Let her know if you need anything."

Booth nodded and said thanks without taking his eyes off of his bones. Jameson exited and Booth wiped some hair out of his Bones' face and placed a kiss on her forehead. He then sat beside her bed and grabbed her hand. All she had to do now was wake up.


	27. Waking Up

**A/N -- First off, I have to give the writers, crew and cast props for last night's episode. It is definitely on my top 10 list. It's up there with Aliens, Soldier, and Sand. I was so excited. I've already watched it 3 times. That being said, I hope this chapter is okay. It's another point a - point b chapter. I have been running on high all day because of the episode last night so I realize this might be affected by that. Please let me know what you think. I hope you like it despite my wandering mind.**

Disclaimer - Bones belongs to Fox.

Chapter 27

Booth sat quietly waiting for his Bones to wake up. She looked terrible but beautiful at the same time. She had an oxygen cannula in her nose and was hooked to more monitors than he could count. He just sat and held on to her hand.

About 30 minutes after she was taken to recovery she started to wake. He was a little surprised at the manner in which she woke up. She started coughing before she even opened her eyes. The nurse stood and raised her bed up a little more, hoping to help her breathe. "Bones? Bones – calm down." Booth was trying to be reassuring to her.

At his voice, she opened her eyes. She looked scared and stunned. "You're alright Bones, it's over." She was still coughing.

The nurse came over and tried to get her to calm her breathing a little. "Temperance, you need to try to take a couple of deep breaths. Your body is still tired; you are going to have to work to wake it up so you can breathe easily."

Brennan nodded and tried, but was unsuccessful. "Hard," was all she could get out of her mouth.

The nurse nodded and looked at Booth. "I'm going to go get her some ice. That may help." Booth just nodded as she spoke.

He had changed his position to sitting on the edge of her bed facing her. "Bones, you are okay."

She tried to take a deep breath, but was only able to breathe in a small amount with a rasp followed by some more coughing. She hated feeling this way. She looked a Booth and was able to get out one other word, "General?."

He nodded and worked on reassuring her. "Yep, apparently you're even too stubborn for nerve blocks to work." He smiled.

The nurse entered and had a cup of ice chips. "Temperance, the tube they used to intubate you has probably made breathing painful. The ice will help with the dryness and make it easier to breathe."

Brennan, who was still dry coughing a little just nodded and reached out to take the cup. The problem was that her arms felt like lead. She tried to use the spoon to put some in her mouth, but couldn't manage.

Booth looked on at his partner's struggle and couldn't wait any longer. He had allowed her to try for 20 seconds. That was more than enough time. "Bones, let me help you."

She simply nodded and closed her eyes again. She had been awake for less than five minutes, but felt exhausted.

Booth took the cup from her hand and scooped up some of the ice chips. He held the spoon to her lips to let her know it was there she opened her mouth and he dropped them in. She reveled in the feel of the cool ice melting and making its way down her abused throat.

They repeated the scenario several times and finally Brennan managed to level out her breathing. She opened her eyes again to find a staring Booth.

"Welcome back Bones. How do you feel?" He asked with a huge grin on his face. His partner was okay.

She coughed slightly and answered very weakly, "Like I've been hit by a wringer."

Booth couldn't help himself. He laughed out loud. Even half out of it, she still misused colloquial phrases. "Bones, it's hit by a truck or dragged through the wringer."

The nurse looked on and was amused at the interaction she observed. "Temperance, your vitals seem to be stable, how are you feeling?"

Brennan simply shrugged her shoulders. Honestly, she wasn't sure what she felt right now.

The nurse somehow understood what she meant and let her be. "I'm going to go and get you something to drink now that you seem to have your breathing under control."

Brennan nodded and closed her eyes again. Booth was still sitting on her bed and had started to slowly rub her leg. She looked pretty uncomfortable. They had her leg in a cooling unit and it was elevated using one of the traction things attached to the bed. It wasn't fully cranked up, but was high enough to make it look uncomfortable.

Booth's gentle motions felt rather soothing to Brennan. Apparently, some of the sensation was starting return to her body and she tried to shift. Her efforts elicited a loud wince from her and she instinctively moved both of her hands to her left leg. 'God that hurts,' she thought to herself.

Booth tried to comfort her by rubbing a little more when the nurse returned. "She's hurting," he said bluntly.

The nurse nodded and found the PCA button and pushed it. She then placed it in Brennan's hand. "Here Temperance, try and drink this." She showed her the juice she had in a small paper cup equipped with a straw.

Brennan took the cup and managed to get it to her mouth without much trouble. She took a sip and Booth took her cup, placing it back on the table.

A few short seconds later, any color that remained in her face washed away. Booth grabbed the emesis basin completely expecting her to vomit.

The nurse saw his motion and immediately went to work. She grabbed an already prepped syringe from the cabinet and pushed it into Brennan's IV. "Temperance, I just gave you a dose of an anti emetic. It works quickly. Are you feeling dizzy at all or have a headache?"

Brennan who was trying to be as still as possible to gave the nurse a simple "Yes" and exhaled, willing the horrible feeling to go away. She began to drift to sleep at the same time she was thinking about words she had previously spoken, 'I don't vomit, at least not in front of people.'

The nurse spoke again. "Alright, you're probably going to feel pretty rough for the next few hours at least." She looked at Brennan who had given in to her exhaustion and was sleeping. She then directed her speech to Booth. "I gave her Phenergan; it will take care of the nausea and probably keep her sleeping for a little while. Her vitals are good and she's doing well, it just seems like the anesthesia drugs aren't agreeing with her. They should all be out of her system in 12 hours or so." The nurse went back to working on Brennan's chart and Booth went back to staring at Brennan.

Finally, after another hour in recovery, the nurse closed the chart. Brennan was still sleeping and it looked like a little of her color was returning. It was 3:15 in the afternoon and Booth was physically exhausted but no where near sleeping.

The nurse looked at Booth and said, "I'm going to go ahead and get her transferred up to a regular room on the orthopedics floor. We'll take her up and get her situated, give us 30 minutes and you can come up. She's going to room 206."

Booth just smiled at the fitting room number (he had learned a few things from listening to Bones' rants), thanked the nurse, and walked out. He needed to go let everyone else know what was going on.

He walked back into the waiting room to find Angela, Hodgins, and Max in much the same position he left them in. Max stood up at the sight of Booth and said, "Booth is she alright?"

Booth nodded before speaking. "She's fine Max; she had a lot of trouble catching her breath when she first woke up. Her throat is really sore from the tube. She ate some ice and that seemed to help. They gave her something to drink and she started feeling sick so they gave her some more medicine. That knocked her back out. She's still asleep."

Angela spoke next. "When can we go up?"

"They're getting her into her room right now. They said give them 30 minutes. She'll be in 206." Booth explained.

Hodgins laughed when he heard the room number. "There is no way that is a coincidence. Dr. B's reputation must get her special treatment." Angela pinched him a little, as he said that. It hurt him, but he enjoyed it.

The group went to her room together. Angela immediately sat down in a chair and Jack took the arm of the same chair, mostly out of habit. Max walked over to his daughter and placed a kiss on her cheek. Booth pulled up the doctor's stool and got as close to her as he could. She didn't budge.

They sat in the room discussing nothing until Jameson came in around 5:00. It was obviously the end of the shift.

He cut each person in the room a short smile and the gave his attention to Booth. "Has she really woken up at all yet?"

Booth answered. "She was up for a little while but fell back to sleep when they gave her some medicine."

The doctor, who was flipping through her chart, said, "Looks like she is having a rough time with the anesthesia, should wear off soon." He was compassionate as he spoke. "I'm going to have physical therapy come by first thing in the morning and again before I discharge her tomorrow evening. I'm keeping her 24 hours post op, minimum. I'll see her again before she is discharged."

Booth stood and shook his hand, "Thanks," he said.

The doctor replied, "Not a problem. I'm going to leave this for her. I figure she will want to look at them when she is coherent."

Booth took a large brown envelope from the doctor and peaked inside. The contents elicited a laugh from the FBI agent.

Max had to know, so he asked. "Booth, what's in there?"

"Bones is way too easy to figure out." Booth smiled at her predictability. Jameson left her the x-rays. "They must have taken a set after they finished up. At least she won't have to threaten any nurses to get them." The rest of the group laughed loudly. Brennan finally started to wake up.

"Hey Pumpkin, you feeling better." Max spoke first.

Brennan just nodded and shifted a little in the bed. She controlled her grimace and willed herself not to push the PCA button. She tried to swallow and was unsuccessful. She spoke in a still raspy voice. "Booth, can you get me some ice?"

Booth nodded and walked out while the rest of the crew smiled that she had asked Booth, not any of them, to take care of her.

They sat for quite a while. Brennan mostly rested. She really couldn't control her eyes. They just seemed to close mid thought or conversation. She hated feeling that way; it must be the pain meds. She had managed to only hit the PCA button a few times when the pain seemed to become unbearable for her.

Around 6:00, Max got up to leave. "I've got to go help Russ with the girls. Amy's working late tonight. Feel better pumpkin." Max kissed her on the cheek. "I'll come by in the morning." He was gone shortly.

A few minutes later, Angela went to leave. "Jack, you want to go to the diner? I'm starving." Jack jumped up at the offer. He hoped she was coming back to him.

"You guys want anything?" Angela offered.

Booth responded. "Nah, Bones' nurse said they will try to let her eat something around 8:00 and I'm not that hungry. Now, I'm planning on turning on my charm smile to get Bones extra pudding which will be mine."

They all laughed including Brennan. Angela and Hodgins both hugged her and got ready to leave. Booth walked them to the door. "Booth," Angela said, "Take care of my friend, and tell her how you feel soon." She then pulled Booth into a hug, she didn't provide him with any opportunity to respond, and she just walked off.

Booth was glad to finally be alone. He had no intentions of talking to her about a relationship that day or even the next week, but he wanted to spend time with her alone. She was different when others were around.

"Bones, you doing okay?" Booth asked.

She spoke her first complete paragraph since waking up. "Yeah, Booth, I'm fine. I'm just experiencing typical side effects and pain. I'm just not up to running a 5k tomorrow or anything." She thought for a moment. "Do you think you could get a nurse to let me look at my x-rays. I want to see how the repairs look."

"Bones, Bones, Bones, can't you just relax. I'm sure the nurses don't want to be bothered." Booth was intentionally messing with her. It was just too tempting to pass up.

"Booth, nursing is their chosen profession. If they didn't want to meet the needs of individual patients, they should have chosen a different sector to work in." She was a little frustrated with him.

Booth just grinned and whipped out the envelope Jameson had left. "Oh," was all she said before she started looking through the films.

She studied everything for a few minutes before stuffing them back into the envelope. "What's the verdict Bones?" Booth asked.

"The repairs look to be effective in realigning everything and eliminating the diastasis between the tibia and fibula." Brennan was actually pleased with the work of Jameson and his partner.

The pair watched an old movie on TV, Brennan managed to eat a little Jell-O while watching. Booth ate her pudding.

At 9:30, the floor nurse came in. She had been in and out throughout the day, but did more than take vitals with this visit.

"You seem to be doing better. We're going to go ahead and get you moving. Why don't you go get something to eat? Give us about an hour." She needed Booth to leave to be able to care for the patient.

Booth nodded and left the room. "You need me, Bones, you call my cell."

She rolled her eyes at his protective tendencies and he spoke again. "Glad you're feeling better."

"Temperance, we'll help you shower and get dressed. I'm going to disconnect your IV and catheter. You can start moving around a little bit, with crutches, and we'll give you oral pain meds from this point." The nurse explained everything to Brennan.

They worked for 45 minutes or so and soon Brennan was sitting back on her bed. Booth walked back in as the nurse was taking her blood pressure and temperature. "You're temp is 98.0. Are you cold?" Brennan nodded.

The nurse finished up. "Okay, I'll bring you a warming blanket. How's the pain."

Brennan answered plainly, "Bearable but persistent."

"I'm going to bring you something to help. Do you feel nauseous or dizzy at all?" Brennan could tell the nurse was asking to determine if she needed more medicine and she didn't want any more.

"Yes, but, I would prefer to not take medicine if possible. I'll buzz if it worsens." Brennan hoped her answer would be enough.

"Alright, please do." She was finished with Brennan and directed her attention toward Booth. "That couch pulls out into a small bed. There are some sheets and blankets in the bathroom closet."

Booth gave her a simple thanks and walked into the bathroom. His Bones was okay and he needed to get some sleep.

The nurse returned shortly and gave Brennan some medicine, a warming blanket, and a pitcher of water. Brennan had been drinking fairly well since she woke up last. "Let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks," said Brennan.

She watched as Booth readied his bed and prepared to climb in. She couldn't help but notice the definition of his muscles showing through his thin, white t-shirt.

He spoke first, "Bones, do you mind if I hit the hay? I'm really tired."

She smiled, "I don't know what that means, but if you are asking if I mind if you go to bed, it's fine. I'm going to check some emails. Could you just hand me my laptop before you lie down?" She was feeling a little better and could at least answer some emails.

"Here you go Bones." Booth handed her the laptop on the rolling tray and she began typing. "Good night Bones."

She didn't look up but replied, "Good night Booth, thanks for everything."

With that, the FBI agent climbed into bed and was asleep before his Bones for the first time in almost two weeks.

Brennan answered several emails and worked on the grammar in one of her chapters. She knew whatever she wrote might not be great because of her medicine. Proof reading required less creativity and was harder to do incorrectly.

Around midnight, Brennan was finally starting to allow her eyes to droop. She closed her laptop and looked at the sleeping FBI agent. She thought to herself how much she enjoyed him and depended on him. If she knew what love was, she might say this was it. She thought to herself, 'Booth, I wish you didn't have that cursed line. I'm not sure what I'm feeling about you, but I don't want to loose the feeling, not ever.'

Lost in her thoughts, Brennan drifted to sleep, physically she was achy, but her heart was full of something. She didn't know what it was, but she liked it.


	28. Therapy and Milkshakes

**A/N -- Thanks everyone for all the great reviews. I am so excited. I am almost to 200. I really didn't expect to get very many, but I also didn't expect for this to go on this long. I am enjoying writing this. It's a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know what ideas you have. I'm still working for at least one update per day.**

Disclaimer - I don't own Bones.

Chapter 28

The following morning, Booth woke first as usual to find a sleeping Brennan. He wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep. He hated to have called it a night before her, but he was exhausted. Now that he had a decent night's sleep, he felt much better and was in a much better mood.

He rolled off of the small couch bed and looked at the clock. It was only 6:15, but he was done sleeping. He went ahead and quickly showered and dressed, being careful not to make too much noise to make Bones wake up. He had slept fairly well, but doubted she did. The nurses came in every few hours to check on her, probably drove her crazy.

Thankfully, when he got out of the shower, she was still sleeping. He ran down to the cafeteria and grabbed a couple of donuts and some coffee. He shoved them in his mouth and went back to her room.

As he entered, he noticed she was starting to stir slightly. Soon, she opened her eyes and gave him a simple, still raspy, "Hey."

"Hey Bones, you feeling better today?" He hoped the fact that she had spoken to him meant she was in a better mood, physically and mentally.

She nodded, "Yes, I think some of my symptoms from the anesthesia have subsided." As she spoke, she tried to shift in the bed. She soon realized that trying to move was a mistake. It hurt too much, being still was good thing at the moment. She took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and then bit on her bottom lip a little.

Booth immediately noticed her change in attitude and needed to fix it. "Bones, you want me to get a nurse for you or anything?" He hated seeing it when she simply tried to move casually, but still hurt. 'Hopefully she'll be out of the hurting phase soon,' he thought to himself. That's all he wanted.

Brennan gave him a single nod telling him she wanted a nurse. It scared him a little that she admitted her pain. That had to mean it was unbearable for the average person. His Bones was definitely not average. He'd seen her hurt before, but she never one time admitted her pain.

He silently thought back to the Kenton escapade in the warehouse so long ago. Once she regained her composure, after he unhooked her, she was completely focused on getting him back to the hospital. She was yammering about endorphins and adrenaline levels and stuff he didn't understand. She continued to fuss at everyone present despite the fact that she had a knot the size of a golf ball on her head. She was probably concussed on top of the bump. She did tell him later that evening that her head still hurt, but he suspected that was more of an excuse to stay rather than an admission of feeling pain.

His thoughts then traveled to the Gravedigger incident. He saw the burn marks on the back of her neck once he made sure Hodgins was ok. They were nasty and had to hurt. She most likely had a killer headache as well because of the explosion and lack of oxygen. Even though he knew those things, she refused to go to the hospital. Even to the current day, Booth still felt a strange feeling wash over him when he walked up behind her in the lab. If her hair was pulled up in a pony tail at just the right angle, he could see two small scars left by that monster's stun gun. He hated to see them because it reminded him that he had failed to protect her.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard her exhale again and went out of the room. He grabbed a nurse and told her that she needed to bring her some meds, stat. He was back in her room very quickly.

"She'll be right in Bones. They're doing shift change now and the nurse going off said you didn't wake last time she came in so she decided to wait until you woke up." He took a seat beside her as he spoke and noticed she was reaching for her laptop which was situated on the rolling table. The nurse must have pushed it out of the way during the night. He helped her out by rolling the table toward her so she didn't have to move at all.

"Thanks Booth." She opened her laptop and began to work.

He gave her a million dollar smile and said, "What's good old Andy Lister up to right now?" He knew what kind of reaction he would get.

"Booth, you'll have to wait until it's published to find out, just like always." She was a little more snippy than usual with him. He didn't let that stop his mission of messing with her.

"You know Bones, I was thinking you might NEED to let me look at what you've written since you hurt you ankle. It might be too "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" for your fans." Booth did his best not to laugh as he spoke, but couldn't contain his massive grin. He knew that would make her go anthropological.

"Booth, I don't know what that means, but if you think the drugs have made my writing less than stellar and too euphoric, you are wrong. The meds are simply blocking my neurotransmitters in order to prevent the pain receptors from effectively sending electrical signals to my brain." She was completely clinical. She didn't even realize he was kidding. "Besides, there are many cases of classic writers in literature who could not write unless they were under the influence of some type of opiate." She finished her explanation and moved a little, causing a hiss. 'Where the hell is that nurse,' she thought to herself but didn't dare verbalize it.

Booth looked on at his partner in amusement as she spoke. 'That's my Bones, always strong, always sharp.' He thought to himself. Her voice was still really raspy, but she was determined to give him her explanation and he knew it. That's one of the things that drew him to her. She was the most determined person he knew.

In just another minute, probably seemed like forever for Brennan, the nurse finally came in. It was about 7:15. She immediately handed Brennan two pills and a glass of water. "That's percocet. Have you ever had it before?"

Brennan shot her an unsure glance as she took the pills. "I may have had it when I had my appendix removed, but I was young and don't remember," Brennan explained.

The nurse nodded in response. "Just let me know if you aren't doing well with it. I can give you something different. It has a different effect on different people. Jameson will probably send you home with something similar." The nurse started taking Brennan's vitals. "Everything looks good with your blood pressure and temperature. They should be bringing breakfast soon. How's the throat today? Your voice is still really raspy." The nurse finished marking the chart as she talked.

"It's still raw, but I'm fine." Brennan said resolutely, wishing she would just stop asking questions and give the pain meds time to kick in.

The nurse nodded and made one last statement. "I went ahead and asked them to bring you soft foods. Let me help you get into the restroom so you can change and brush your teeth."

Brennan nodded and did as instructed even though it was painful. The nurse helped her get back into the bed and put her ankle back in the elevation sling and the circulation unit. She sighed as she settled back into the bed, sore and achy from the simple trip to the bathroom. She thought to herself, 'This is the worst part; it'll will get better from here.'

By 8:00, still really early, the pain meds were starting to take the edge off Brennan's pain and she was much more comfortable as long as she didn't move. She had relaxed a little and was checking emails when Dr. Jameson walked in. "Temperance, this is Marc Burns. He'll be working with you today and I'll be referring you to his practice for your rehab. He has a few partners who are all very good." Marc walked over and shook her hand. To Booth, his eyes seemed to linger a little too long, but he didn't comment.

Jameson flipped through her chart. "Looks like you're going to be able to get out of her during evening rounds. I'll come by around 4:00 and check on you before discharge. Marc will work with you now and come back by around 2:00 for another session." The doctor placed her chart back in the holder and switched from clinical to compassionate. "Are you feeling better today? You were out of it when I came by last night."

Brennan just nodded and Jameson responded with a simple nod before speaking. "Great, I'll let Marc get started. Temperance, please don't ignore any pain you experience, ask for something when you need it." The doctor shot Booth a glance and Booth nodded.

Booth thought for a moment. 'Is Bones really that obvious that he could tell she would avoid taking medicine? I'll have to ask him later.' In truth, Jameson could tell from her old injuries that she ignored pain.

As Jameson exited the room, Marc explained a few things, and a staff member walked in with a breakfast tray, placing it on the table. Booth removed the cover and didn't like what he saw. "Bones, I'll be back in a few. Call my cell if you need me."

He left and Marc began with Brennan. He began by having her lift her leg and hold for a few seconds. He then moved her leg in several directions while holding it. After finishing a few repetitions of each movement, he used his hands to work her calf muscles. She immediately noticed that his touch was not the same as Booth's. His motions added pain; Booth's was soothing.

He finished working both of her legs and then had Brennan work by moving her toes to form the motion of letters with her toes. Brennan found the exercise quite strange and hated it because, frankly, it hurt. When she had finished, a new part of her daily routine for the upcoming months emerged.

"Temperance, a big part of your initial rehab plan will be electrotherapy. Jameson and I are concerned that you will loose a good deal of muscle tone in your calf and thigh of your left leg and possibly over compensate with the muscles in your right leg. We are also concerned about you lateral ligaments. Immobilizing the ankle joint is very detrimental to recovering range of motion in third degree lateral ankle sprains. The problem is that your high ankle injury takes precedence and you are going to have to be immobilized." She nodded; she completely understood the implication of her combination of injuries.

She asked her first question since he had begun. "Have you determined what, if any, options there for immobilization that still allow for range of motion exercises?"

Marc looked at her compassionately. "Not yet, we don't really have any options for at least a month or more. You'll be hard casted once your stitches are removed. That will prevent any shifting of your tibia and fibula. After that, we may do some type of removable boot, but you'll still be on crutches until your screws come out." As he spoke, he began attaching the electrotherapy nodes to the correct places on her thigh.

Brennan laid her head back on the bed as he began the process of eliciting muscle contractions using the dials on the small portable unit. Each pulse hurt as her stiff muscles flinched. After a few minutes, Marc moved the nodes to her calf. If possible, it was even more painful on her calf. She did not like this routine.

Booth returned to find Marc hurting his Bones. He did not like this guy by any stretch of the imagination.

After the cycle of pulses completed on her calf, Marc flipped off the unit and disconnected her from the ugly device. He patted her on the leg gently. "I'll be back by this afternoon. Try to stay as comfortable as possible until then. Let the nurse know if you need some more ice for your calf of thigh." He then took his leave as Brennan exhaled loudly. She hated that cursed machine.

Booth noticed her grimace and gave her a wide grin. "Bones," he waited on her to focus. "You can have the breakfast they brought, or what I got you. He first uncovered the hospital breakfast to reveal cottage cheese, Jell-o, some kind of sherbet, or what used to be sherbet, and glorious pudding. She turned her nose up at the sight.

Booth then handed her the small insulated container he brought in. She pulled out the large strawberry milkshake he brought her and smiled. "Thanks Booth, you didn't have to do that."

He sat beside her as she took her first sip and said, "Not a problem Bones. I plan on keeping you happy. I don't want to be the first person to experience the brunt of your newly repaired ankle when you are back on your feet. I'll leave that for the gang leaders and serial killers." He grabbed her pudding and sat back in the chair and began to eat the preservative packed cup of chocolate goodness.

Brennan just laughed and drank the milkshake. She felt loved and cared for. It was the complete opposite of the forgotten, alone feelings she had in the hospital as a teenager.

Both of the partners were happy.


	29. Itches and Letters

**A/N - This chapter is pretty long, I hope it is still enjoyable. I am still excited about all the reviews. Please keep them coming to let me know what you think. You guys are great readers.**

Disclaimer - Bones and characters are property of Fox.

Chapter 29

Another hour passed and the pair was fairly quiet during the time. Booth turned on ESPN and Brennan half worked / half rested. She tried to focus, but really wasn't able to do that effectively. That was what she hated the most about this whole thing, the medicine messing with her thinking ability. She had denied it to Booth, but he was right. She smiled slightly at a couple of memories from early in their partnership. First, she thought of the time she inhaled the meth. She really didn't remember a lot of details, but Hodgins told her she was crazed. Then, she remembered the Valley Fever incident and how Booth reacted to the anti fungal medications. He was less controlled than she had ever seen him.

Brennan was dozing lightly when Russ and Max came in around 10:00. She woke up and shifted a little as Max came over and kissed his daughter. "You look much better today, pumpkin."

Brennan hugged him and then Russ came over to kiss her. "I'm sorry I didn't come yesterday, Tempe. I was working and then Amy had to work late."

Brennan smiled. "It's okay Russ. I was fairly sedated with medicines anyway; I don't think I was good company."

Russ just nodded and took a seat. He talked a little about what Emma and Haley were up to and how grateful he was for the doctor she had connected them with. They had moved to DC to be close to his office.

The group sat quietly for a while. All of the alpha males kept an eye on the woman they loved. They all loved her on different levels, but still, it was love.

After a little while, Russ noticed his baby sister was scratching at her arms and chest almost unknowingly. "Tempe, why are you clawing yourself?" At the question, Booth and Max focused their attention more to Brennan. Booth had noticed this earlier, but didn't mention it. He thougth it might just be an effect of her being bored.

Brennan snapped out of her trance and pulled her shirt off her arms. She could see the red streaks she was making even through the v-necked under armor shirt she was wearing. "I'm not sure Russ; I didn't realize I was doing it. It's probably just a slight reaction to the medicine. I feel fine."

The three men accepted her answer and talked baseball and hockey. Brennan was very quiet and at some point had fallen asleep.

The nurses had been monitoring her vitals regularly and as expected, just before lunch, the nurse entered. When she prepared herself to check her blood pressure, lifting her sleeve a little, she paused and pulled the blanket off of both of Brennan's arms. This motion woke her up. "Temperance, are you feeling alright?" Brennan just nodded her head was still too sleepy to talk.

The nurse took out her stethoscope and listened to her heart and lungs. "Are you itching? It looks like you've scratched your arms and chest until you've broken the skin." The nurse could see the redness at her neck line and on her arms.

"I suppose I am. I've been scratching without realizing it." Brennan explained even as she scratched her arms.

The nurse nodded and then instructed Brennan to lean forward a little. She did so even though the simple movement was painful. The nurse lifted her shirt and noticed the rash she was developing. She helped her lean back and then took her temperature.

She wrote a few things in her chart and then spoke. "Looks like you are reacting to the percocet, I'm going to change you to a different pain killer, but you've had a couple of doses so it may take a while to get out of your system. It doesn't seem to be an allergic reaction, your breathing is fine. I'll bring you some benedryl. That will alleviate the itching and the rash you have on your back. You also have a mild fever. It could be related to the percocet or due to the surgery. I'll call Jameson and he'll probably start you on antibiotics. Just be prepared, sometimes a fever requires additional in patient monitoring." The nurse finished up and walked out of the room.

The men all stared at her. Booth went and sat on her bed facing her. "Bones, are you okay?"

She smiled, they were obviously worried. "I'm fine Booth. I don't feel sick. I'm sure it's just the medicine causing a reaction. I'll be fine."

Booth and the other men were doubtful, but didn't push. A few minutes later, the nurse returned and handed Brennan a few pills. "Jameson is putting you on an antibiotic. He will be here later this afternoon and he'll determine if you need to stay or can be discharged." Brennan nodded. She really did not want to stay another night. Hopefully he'd let her go home with antibiotics. She took the meds and handed the cup back to the nurse.

The nurse left and Brennan started unhooking herself from the cooling unit so she could go to the rest room. All the men eyed her, wanting to help, but she shot them an 'I'll do this alone look.' They had all seen the look before and knew not to try and help.

She successfully made her way to the bathroom and back to bed. She managed to get herself situated and then laid her head back. She was now exhausted.

She was still scratching when the nurse came back into the room. "Would you three mind waiting outside, I've got some medicine for your rash I want to help you apply."

The men stood and Booth spoke to Brennan. "Bones, we're going to run get some lunch. Do you want anything? We'll probably go to the diner across the street."

Brennan just shook her head, she wasn't really hungry.

The men exited and the nurse had Brennan sit up and drew the curtain in the room. She instructed her to pull her shirt off, leaving Brennan sitting on the bed with just a sports bra. "This is hydrocortisone cream. It will help with the skin irritation. I think you are just experiencing a side effect of the percocet not an anaphylactic reaction. Are you experiencing any other symptoms?" Brennan shook her head. Honestly, she felt fine. The nurse continued to put the cream on her back. "Why does he call you Bones?"

Brennan rubbed some of the cream on her arms, wincing a little as she rubbed it over the places where her skin was broken. "Oh, that, he's always called me Bones. At first, he did it because he didn't like me. Now, it's just what he calls me. I hated it at first, but now I like it."

The nurse nodded and helped Brennan get her shirt back on. "Let me know if you need anything."

A few minutes later, Angela came in. "Where's your army of alpha males?" she asked as she walked through the door.

"They're at the diner across the street. Booth has gone without pie for 24 hours and is probably in withdrawals." Brennan smiled at her friend.

"How are things going with Booth? Any developments?" She hadn't been alone with her friend in a few days.

"No, Ange, we're still just partners." Brennan's face grew somber as she spoke.

Angela could read her friend like a book. "Oh, this is hot. You have it for him, bad. Bren, you have to tell him." Angela was grinning.

"Ange, I can't. I can't risk our partnership. You know that." Brennan was being honest, she wanted Booth as more than her partner, but his list wasn't finished. They had work to do.

"Bren, how do you know you couldn't date and still remain partners? You aren't FBI." Angela hoped this would yield some results.

"I'm sure the contractor policy is the same as the employees'." Brennan made her statement in a tone that would let Angela know she was done talking about it.

Angela thought for a moment. She would do a little investigating on her to find out what the policy really was. If her friend wouldn't do it, she would take care of it.

"So, after we left here yesterday, Hodgins and I went to the diner together." Angela sat on the bed by her friend.

Brennan smiled. "So, what does that mean?"

Angela shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know Bren, I mean I love him, I really do, but I am afraid to marry him. What if I don't love him later?"

Brennan nodded. "Angela, you know I'm not good with this, but if love really does exist, do you always feel it or is it sometimes overshadowed by the release of other neurotransmitters? I would think that just because you don't feel it all the time, it doesn't mean you've completely lost the sensation." Brennan hated psychology and hoped that was more scientific than psychological.

Angela just smiled. "You know Bren; you sure seem to know a lot about love to not believe in it." Angela grabbed her hand. "So, do you think I should go back to Hodgins?"

"I do, I really do. I mean you guys are a good team." Brennan squeezed her hand.

A tear rolled down Angela's cheek. She missed Hodgins and knew that she loved him. She just hadn't been able to commit for a lifetime. Maybe now, she just needed to do it.

Angela quickly wiped her eyes as she heard the guys come back in. "Hey Angela!" Booth called.

"Hey studly." He just rolled his eyes at her typical greeting.

Booth placed a take out box on Brennan's table and cut her a sly smile. "Booth, I told you I didn't want anything."

"Oh come on Bones, I know you can't turn down French fries and milkshakes." He grinned as he handed her the milkshake.

She didn't say anything; she just opened the container and started on the fries. It was a little painful to swallow, but she didn't care. They were good. As she was eating, they brought in the hospital lunch tray. Booth looked under the cover and wrinkled his nose at the hospital food. He grabbed the pudding and a spoon and sat down to eat.

Brennan laughed. "Booth, didn't you just eat?"

Booth grinned and said, "Yes, but pudding is like Jell-O Bones, there's always room for more."

She just went back to her fries. He was unbelievable.

As promised, Marc returned around 2:00. He said hello to all in the room and Max, Angela, and Russ excused themselves rather quickly. They all promised to call later when she was home.

Marc started working with Brennan. This time Booth stayed. He needed to see what this therapist was doing to his partner, his Bones.

Marc started the entire cycle again. He massaged her leg focusing on her calf and thigh and then made her repeat the lifting and letter exercises. This time Brennan really struggled to complete the tasks. 'It's going to be a long road.' She thought to herself.

Booth looked on with anger. He hated seeing her struggle; she had done enough of that to last a lifetime. He also hated watching another man touch her in such an intimate way, even if it was to help her heal.

Marc hooked her up to the electrotherapy machine and started it. Booth watched as Brennan flinched each time Marc turned one of the dials. When he hooked it to her calf, Booth saw her gritting her teeth and saw a small tear well up in her eye. At that point, Booth pulled his chair closer to her and started to rub her back a little. From there, he could feel her tensing with every pulse of the machine.

By 2:45, Marc had finished and explained the therapy regimen to Brennan. "We're going to want you to come every other day for the first few weeks. Once you get out of the hard cast, you're going to need to come once a day. When you have your screws removed, we will start you on an intensive twice a day program for a couple of weeks. I'll be honest with you Temperance; you are going to have a lot of work to do." He patted her on the leg. "I've made you an appointment for Thursday morning. Take it easy tomorrow. I'm leaving you the electrotherapy portable unit. You need to use it twice a day and do the exercises I did with you each time. There is a paper in the unit that explains everything for you"

Brennan just nodded as he packed up the machine and sat it on the couch. She hated that machine, but understood its purpose. She willed her self to unclench her jaw and said "Thanks, I'll be there on Thursday."

Marc left and Booth looked at Brennan and hated the look in her eye. He didn't say anything. She grabbed the nurse call button and pushed it. In a few seconds, her regular nurse walked in. "Temperance, do you need something?" The nurse had only worked with her for a few hours, but could tell she was not a complainer.

Brennan just nodded and explained. "I was hoping you could get some ice for my calf and thigh and I wasn't sure what time I could have additional pain meds, but I was hoping it was soon."

The nurse nodded and said, "Absolutely, whatever you need. We typically wait until you ask for pain meds once you are 24 hours out unless you go over 8 hours. You can have them every 4 right now. We are going to switch you back to Lortab, just a stronger dosage than you were taking at home. I'll get you some ice and meds and be right back." She quickly turned and left the room.

Booth just looked at her. "That bad, huh."

She couldn't really talk, so she just gave him a single nod.

As promised, the nurse returned with two ice wraps and the medicine. She gave Brennan the medicine and helped her situate the ice on her calf and thigh. Brennan thanked her and laid back. After a few minutes, she began to feel better and spoke to Booth. "I think I hate that machine more than serial killers. It's effectively torture."

Booth laughed a little at her comparison. "Bones, it'll get better."

In a few minutes, Brennan fell asleep and Booth was once again watching a hockey game. The nurse came back in and took her vitals and temperature. Her temperature was 100.2.

"What does that mean?" Booth asked.

The nurse smiled and answered. "It's not very high so it is probably nothing. Her body has just been through a lot of prodding over the last 24 hours. It most likely just stress or a reaction to the percocet, but we have to watch her for infection. Jameson will probably just send her home on antibiotics just in case." Booth just nodded, he figured it was stress, she showed signs of fever a couple of times through everything and it turned out to be nothing.

Brennan slept for another hour or so and woke around 4:15. Booth had already packed all of her things in anticipation of taking her home in a couple of hours. "You didn't have to pack that stuff Booth, I could have done it."

"I know you could Bones, but I got it. I need to do something besides watch sports anyway." He smiled as he placed her bags on the small couch.

There was a quiet knock at the door and Jameson entered. "Temperance, how are you this afternoon?"

Brennan answered fairly quickly. "I feel fine and the pain is manageable. I rather dislike the therapy regimen, but I understand why it has to be done."

"Good, I see you reacted unfavorably to the percocet. You probably need to stay away from it in the future, but you reaction is not uncommon. At any rate, I'm going to give you a prescription for the stronger Lortab for the pain and a hydrocortisone cream for the skin irritation." Brennan listened patiently as the doctor spoke; she really just wanted to know if she could go home.

The doctor continued after looking at her chart. "You've also been running a bit of a fever, as long as you aren't feeling ill, I'm going to send you home with a short course of antibiotics. I just want to make sure it's not an infection. Check your temp when you take meds, if it goes up, call us. I'll get everything together and when the nurse comes back, you'll be free to go. Try to keep comfortable and keep that ankle elevated in the cooling unit as much as you can stand."

'Thank goodness,' thought Brennan and Booth at the same time. They had both had enough of hospitals for quite a while.

"I want to see you next Monday to remove your stitches and hard cast you. Take it easy until then. No work until you can comfortably function without the narcotics, probably after your appointment with me at the earliest. Just remember, do not attempt to stand or walk without your crutches at all. If you break a pin before you are healed, you will be in a mess." The doctor was finished and he shook both of their hands and left.

"I'm going to go ahead and run all of our things out to the SUV. I'll be back in just a minute." Booth figured that was the most effective way to get her and the things to the car.

As he approached the SUV, his cell phone rang. It was Nichols so he answered, hoping to get her off the phone really quickly. "Booth," he said as he flipped the phone open.

"_Booth, I just got a new file and was hoping you could come by and take a look at it this evening. I think it will be very interesting and we could handle working it." _The young agent explained the purpose of her call to an unwilling Booth.

"Listen Nichols, I'm off until Thursday. I'm sure if you need the Jeffersonian, you could call Cam and she could help you out. You don't really have to go through me just to get their help." Booth hoped that would satisfy her, no such luck.

Nichols tried to take her request to the next level and said, "_I understand that Booth, but I really feel like you should take the first look at the file. I'm not even sure if this case will take the Jeffersonian or not. It might be one we could solve alone, we are both good agents." _She hoped appealing to his cocky side would be enough to get him to buy in.

"You know what, you want to solve it without them, go ahead and try; just don't do anything to jeopardize the admissibility of evidence in a trial. You do that, you deal with Caroline." Booth really didn't care what she did as long as she didn't screw up.

Nichols realized she was unsuccessful, so tried another approach. "_Come to think of it, maybe Dr. Brennan should take a look at the case. It was a totally decomposed corpse found in the woods near Alexandria. Maybe I could bring it by later this evening for her to look out."_

Booth bit back the urge to jump through the phone and strangle her. Of course, Bones would need to help in this case unless Nichols had earned her doctorate in two days. "Nichols, I'll ask Bones if she wants to take a look at the file, but if she doesn't feel like it, that's final. Anyway, it won't be tonight, maybe in the morning. I'll send you a text message letting you know." Booth was finished and flipped the phone shut leaving a surprised Nichols on the other end of the line.

Booth threw the bags in the back seat of the SUV and slammed the door shut. He really didn't want to be bothered by Nichols, but he would have to deal with her when he went back to work, hopefully if Bones looked at the file, he could avoid problems later. He walked back to Bones' room to find her signing her discharge papers.

"You're all set." The nurse said as she stepped out and wheeled in a wheel chair.

Brennan's eyes grew wide, she would not leave in a wheel chair, she wasn't an invalid. Booth intercepted her thoughts and said, "Bones, I'm sure it's hospital policy and you wouldn't want to give this nice nurse any trouble would you?" He grinned and used his arms to pretend to reveal the wheelchair to her. "Your chariot waits." He laughed as he said it.

Brennan puffed and rolled her eyes, but let him help her off the bed and into the wheelchair. The nurse rolled her down the hall as Booth jogged to pull the car up. He waited in the circle at the entrance until the nurse rolled her out. He helped her stand and she grabbed her crutches to make the five step journey to the SUV. She got herself in and buckled up. She was glad to be leaving the hospital.

The pair rode in silence until Booth spoke, "Bones, do you want me to take you home and then go out and get your medicine? I don't mind."

"No Booth, you've already paid for too much stuff for me anyway, I'll pay you back when I go by an ATM. Anyway, just go through a place that has a drive through and I can pay for it myself." She really felt guilty for letting him pay for things. She obviously made more money than him. She supposed it was his alpha male tendencies that made him want to pay for things.

"Bones, it's not a big deal, you have good insurance anyway." Booth was honest he didn't care to take care of things for her. He might not be rich, but he could handle it. "Do you have a thermometer, or do we need to get one?" He wanted to make sure she didn't ignore the doctor's orders.

"I do have one, I'm not sure that I ever even used it, but I have it just in case." Booth was satisfied at her answer and pulled through a drive through pharmacy.

He passed the things through to the pharmacy tech. They waited in the car for a little bit, but they quickly filled the prescriptions and Brennan passed Booth her credit card to give the tech. She signed the forms passed back to her and they headed to her apartment.

They got home around 6:00 and Booth ordered take out Thai. "Bones, you should feel lucky that you are on the delivery routes of so many restaurants. You have your pick."

She made her way back to her bedroom to change and shower. She quickly realized that taking a bath was quicker and more comfortable although getting in and out of the tub was tricky as was putting on the hydrocortisone cream. She managed anyway.

When she emerged from the bathroom, Booth had dinner on the table and the pair ate. They talked about nothing for the most part. Booth did tell her that Rebecca had called and was going on a business trip in a few weeks, the first week of November. He would get to have Parker for an entire week. That rarely happened and he was excited.

"Hopefully that will be the week I get my hard cast off. Maybe I can cook you guys mac and cheese one evening." Brennan couldn't believe she just volunteered to cook for Parker and Booth. What was even more unbelievable to her was the fact that she really wanted to do it.

Booth's eyes grew wide at the thought of the cheesy goodness. "Bones, that would be great. Parker has a Booth stomach and will love it."

Booth decided that now was as good a time as any to bring up Nichols' phone call. "Hey Bones, I hate to bring it up, but Nichols called earlier and wants us to take a look at a case tomorrow. I told her no at first, but she was pretty persistent. She said it's a skeleton in the dry decay stage of decomposition." Brennan cut her eyes at him. 'Had he been listening to her well enough to know that the final stage of decomposition was dry decay? I wonder if he knew that dry decay meant 50 – 365 days post death?' A smile grew on her face as she thought about his squinty side.

He noticed her pondering something and asked, "What?"

She snapped out of her day dream and spoke again. "Nothing. Does she want us to go to your office?"

Booth knew she wouldn't be able to resist looking at graphic pictures of Bones. "She probably would, but I told her IF we met, she would have to come here. You don't need to be out tomorrow."

"It's fine Booth, she can come by. Just make sure she gets the bones shipped to the lab. I don't trust the FBI techs with my bones." She explained.

The pair finished eating and Brennan walked over to the cabinet to take her medicine. Booth saw her and thought, 'good girl,' but didn't dare say a thing.

They settled on the couch for a little while watching television between phone calls. Angela, Russ, and Max all called to check on her.

Around 9:00, Brennan remembered that she hadn't gotten her mail in a couple of days. She thought about doing it herself, but moved a little, felt pain and opted not to try. "Hey Booth, would you mind running downstairs to get my mail for me? I haven't done it in a few days."

"Sure Bones, where's the key." He jumped up from the couch and walked to the door.

Brennan pointed to the front door. "It's the little gold one on the red key ring hanging on the key rack."

With that, he walked out the door and went downstairs. He opened her box and found a lot of mail, but not as much as he expected. He figured her fan mail must go to her publisher. He could tell by the size of the envelopes that she had several cards, probably well wishes.

He walked back in her apartment and handed it to her. "Thanks Booth," she said as she flipped through it. She stopped when she saw one yellow envelope. Booth sat beside her and couldn't figure out why she stopped.

He noticed she had that lost little girl look and spoke. "What is it Bones?"

She looked up at him and made a simple statement. "It's from Zack. I can pick his handwriting out any day."

She pulled the card out of the stack and sat it on the coffee table. She then reached for her crutches as she spoke. "I'm going to go to bed now. I think I'll sleep in my room now that my ankle is stable." He watched her fumble trying to carry the card and the cooling unit. He stood and took the cooling unit from her and followed her to her room.

"I'll set this up for you and let you go to bed. If you need anything, just yell." Booth offered the small amount of help, but didn't push.

She placed the still sealed card on her nightstand and went into her bathroom. Booth could hear her brushing her teeth as he finished up and closed her bedroom door.

He went back into the living room and turned on ESPN. He wasn't paying attention to it though; he was worried about her reading the card from Zack alone. He knew her emotions were still raw and that she felt guilty about what happened to him. They all did.

In her bedroom, Brennan climbed into bed and placed her aching leg into the cooling unit on top of the three pillows Booth set out. She could tell she had been up a little too much already, but she was feeling okay. She checked her temperature and found it to be 99.2. That was a good sign. She lay back on the pillows and opened the card. A few stray tears fell as she read. 'Oh Zack,' she thought before putting the card down and drifting to sleep even though her mind was racing. If she hadn't been medicated, she was sure sleep wouldn't have come.

Booth watched television until 11:30 and then flipped it off. He texted Nichols telling her to come by around 11:00, not before. He then turned off the lights in Brennan's apartment. He didn't realize until that moment that he didn't like her sleeping in her room. He couldn't stare at her sleeping or place small kisses on her cheek. Despite that fact, he still felt at home at her place. He liked it.


	30. Visit and the New Case

**A/N - Sorry this is a little later than usual for me. It's going to be a busy week, but I'm still going to shoot for a chapter a day. I hope you are all still enjoying the story. This chapter is a little bit of filler again, I'm going to have them take it easy for a couple of days and then they will get into some more exciting ventures. Hopefully, I'll keep it enjoyable and in character. As always, thanks for the reviews and let me know what you think.**

Disclaimer - I am not associated with Bones in any way.

Chapter 30

Booth woke the following morning fairly well rested. He knew it was going to be a fairly lazy day. He just hoped that Bones would be feeling well and that the visit with Nichols wouldn't be as painful as it potentially could be.

He threw on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt and decided to go run. He hadn't worked out in a while and it was only 6:00 am. It would be another couple of hours before Bones woke up if this morning followed the pattern of the previous week.

Booth ran for about 45 minutes. He actually liked running in her neighborhood. It was close to several parks and was even within jogging distance of The Mall if he was feeling especially patriotic. He ran up her stairs and entered her apartment. He was soaking wet with sweat and ran toward the shower. Thankfully, she was still sleeping.

By 8:00, he was cleaned up and ready to go for the day. He started to make something for breakfast and he noticed how different it was cooking breakfast but not being able to look at her sleeping body on the couch. He knew that she would soon be able to take care of the small things on her own and wouldn't need him to stay. He dreaded that.

As he scrambled the eggs, he heard the clicking of her crutches down the hall. "Good morning Bones," he said in a rather perky voice.

She was obviously in a not so great mood because she didn't really respond to him. She just walked to the counter and popped a couple of pills before sitting on the couch. Booth finished up the breakfast and took both plates to the couch. He handed Brennan hers and sat his on the coffee table and walked back to get the mugs of coffee. They ate quietly for a few minutes until Brennan finally spoke.

"Hey Booth, would you go with me to see Zack sometime?" She asked.

Booth was pretty surprised. Thus far, she had barely even acknowledged that Zack ever worked at the Jeffersonian. He knew she was compartmentalizing her feelings and that was okay with him. It had worked for her for 32 years and she was a healthy, well-adjusted woman. He certainly didn't want her to change and become sappy.

"Sure Bones, what did his card say?" Booth didn't know if she would tell him or not and was surprised when she pulled a card out of the pocket of the running pants she was wearing.

Booth read the simple card.

_Dear Dr. Brennan,_

_Hodgins came to visit me the other day and told me of your injury and upcoming surgery. I am truly sorry that you were injured and will have to recover. Based on the little information I could glean from Hodgins it sounded extensive and painful. I hope you can recover quickly and be in the least amount of pain possible._

_At any rate, I am even more saddened by the fact that I cannot be there to support your work during your recovery. I should be there. _

_I am truly remorseful that my actions led to the death of a man and I hope that someday I can repay my debt to society and to you. You provided me with the best gift I have ever received, the opportunity to work at the finest forensics facility in the country. I am sorry that I did not place enough value on your gift and made a horrible decision. I hope that someday you can forgive me._

_Sincerely,_

_Zack Addy_

Booth closed the card and handed it back to Brennan. She placed it down on the coffee table.

"I'm sorry Bones." Booth offered a little sympathy. He knew how broken she had been when they figured it out. He just wished he could fix it for her.

She looked at him and spoke. "It's okay Booth, I just think I need to help him. I do forgive him, but feel guilty that I allowed it to happen. After he came back from Iraq, he was different. We should have supported him better. We just threw him back into the job."

Booth understood what she was saying but also understood Zack. "Bones, you couldn't have known. You all, we all just thought that's what Zack would have wanted, to go back to work full force. None of us could have changed a thing." Booth hoped that would be enough. "Just let me know when you want to go and I'll take you."

Brennan smiled at him and finished the conversation by saying, "I think I'm going to give it a couple of weeks, but I'll let you know when I'm ready."

The pair finished their coffee and Booth cleared the plates. "How's the leg today Bones?" He asked as he placed the dishes in the dishwasher.

"The same. Hopefully I will begin to see improvement as the swelling decreases." She gave Booth a very clinical answer. He expected nothing less from his partner.

Booth had to ask her a few more questions even if it was alpha male. "Have you checked your temperature this morning?"

Brennan just nodded at him. "I checked it when I got up. It was 99.8, nothing to be concerned about."

He was relieved. If she was getting an infection, her temperature would be increasing.

Brennan grabbed her laptop from the side table where Booth must have set it up for her and checked a few emails. 15 minutes later, she closed the laptop and made her way to her bedroom to shower and change. It was 9:15 and Nichols was supposed to come by at some point. "Booth, what time is Nichols supposed to come by?"

Booth tensed at the mention. He wasn't looking forward to it. "I told her 11:00 and not before. Hopefully she will decide not to come by."

"Alright, I'm going to get ready and then I need to do the physical therapy routine before she gets here." Brennan explained and Booth flipped open her laptop to check a few emails himself. He wasn't much for computers, but did appreciate email as a form of communication.

Around 10:00, Brennan emerged from her bedroom sporting a pair of boot cut jeans and a long sleeved North Western t-shirt. She had put on a little make up and honestly looked the most Bones-like as he had seen her in several days. He liked both sides of her, the natural and the 'fixed up'. She was beautiful in so many ways and had so many different looks.

"Bones, you didn't have to dress up for me." He grinned as he made his statement.

She answered very dryly. "I didn't, I just imagined that I should look presentable when Nichols came over. Plus, I feel more productive when I am dressed. I'm tired of feeling like an invalid."

She sat on the couch and started to do the things Marc had instructed. They were pretty painful, but she managed without asking for Booth's help. She finished and then grabbed the electro unit from the side table. Booth must have set it up for her. She had to smile at the thought of her partner. He was the complete opposite of her. He was very attentive to the needs of others and always anticipated what she might need. She liked that about him.

She was thankful that her jeans were loose enough that she didn't have to struggle to connect the electrodes. She put them on her thigh and used the sheet Marc had included as her guide. She hated to, but she switched the unit on and turned the dial to the first setting on the paper. She immediately winced.

Booth noticed her struggle and came to sit beside her on the couch. "Bones, do you want me to do it?" He knew she could focus on maintaining her composure better if he controlled the unit and she could relax.

Marc had instructed for her to do 1 minute of 3 different settings on her thigh muscles. Once that was complete, Booth moved the electrodes to her calf. This was the worst part.

He looked at her face, she was gritting her teeth and had her eyes closed. Her head was leaning on the back of the couch. "Ready Bones?" he asked.

She gave him a single nod and he started the cycle. Marc's instructions were for 1.5 minutes of each of 4 settings. "I'm sorry Bones," was all he could say as he flipped the switch.

They finished and Brennan had managed not to cry. Booth packed the unit back up and immediately went to the kitchen to get her a couple of ice packs. He put them on her calf and thigh and then went back to her bedroom to get the astronaut boot.

He got her all set up and then looked at the clock. 10:30, hopefully she would have enough time to get some energy back before Nichols got there.

They sat in silence for a few minutes and at 10:40, there was a knock at the door. Brennan sat up a little bit straighter and rubbed her face. Booth stood up and growled. 'I'll kill her,' he thought to himself as he stood to go to the door.

He pulled the door open and said, "Nichols, you're early," in his most intimidating voice.

Apparently, it didn't work because she walked right in and sat on the couch beside his Bones. She had all kinds of nerve to try that.

Nichols took a look at Brennan, whose leg was still iced from foot to thigh. "I thought it was just your ankle that you hurt?"

Booth started to speak when Brennan shot him an 'I'll take care of her' look. "Technically, my injury involves the tibia, fibula, talus, and five ligaments that I can name for you if you would like. All of those structures compose what laymen refer to as the ankle joint. You are observant in noticing that I do currently have ice on my calf and thigh muscles. If you are wondering why, it is because I have to use an electro therapy unit twice a day to try to stimulate healing and allow my muscles above the injury to contract in order to avoid loosing muscle tone. If you would like to see how the therapy regimen feels, I'm sure Booth would be glad to hook it up and let you use it for a few minutes." Brennan was using her 'pissed off scientist voice' to get the full effect with Nichols. That voice always worked with the FBI techs.

As Brennan spoke, Booth tried to avoid laughing. When she offered for Nichols to try the electro unit, he smiled at Nichols and gave her a nod.

Nichols was a little stunned at Brennan's response. "No, I think I'll pass for today, but thanks." She stumbled on her words a little as she spoke.

She regained her composure and handed Brennan and Booth each a folder. "So, a body was found on a wooded portion of a farm just outside Alexandria. The farm owner was clearing some land to build a shop when he saw the skull and called the police."

Brennan flipped through the pictures and looked up at Nichols, "Female, early to mid twenties, it looks like she has some type of old pelvic injury, but I can't be sure of exactly what the injury entailed without looking at the actual bones. I would say she was around 5' 5" but that is dependent on whether or not this is an accurately taken photograph." Brennan was always skeptical of the work the FBI techs did. They had been known to use inaccurate rulers and take the pictures at angles which skewed the accuracy of the pictures. "Did you have the remains sent to the Jeffersonian?" Brennan hoped that was at least done correctly.

"I did have them sent; they should have gotten there early this morning." Nichols explained the extra evidence they had found around the body.

Brennan's face was a little saddened at that moment. The remains were at the lab, but she could do nothing to help, she resolved herself to try her best to delegate the tasks and do what she could. "Okay, I'll call Cam and get her to have the intern catalog all the injuries and put all of the images online for me. Hopefully I can take a look at them this afternoon."

Nichols nodded and turned back to Booth. "So, are you going to be ready to help with the case in the morning?"

He was glad he had a lot of respect for women. If he didn't, he probably would have decked her at that time. It wasn't just the question that bothered him; it was the manner in which she asked it. "If Bones is okay to stay by herself I might come in. We'll just see how everything goes."

Brennan didn't speak. Normally she would have insisted that Booth go ahead and go in to work, but she really didn't want him working with Nichols. She decided just to smile and not give a response to Nichols and instead, spoke to Booth. "Hey Booth, could you get my cell phone? I'm going to call Cam."

Booth stood and did as requested. He returned to his seat. Inside he was hoping that Nichols would leave soon.

Brennan dialed and paused. "Hey Cam," she greeted her and then paused. "Yes, but it's manageable. I'm working through the exercises and electronic stimulation plan they sent me home using. I start physical therapy tomorrow." Brennan tried to remain clinical. She knew Cam was concerned for her. She and Cam had a lot of respect for each other now and had even begun to like each other. "Thanks, could you have the intern catalog all the injuries and put them on the network so I can look at them. Hopefully I will be in on Monday, I just need to wean myself off of the narcotics by then." The conversation came to a close and Brennan finished with an "Thanks Cam, I won't" and flipped her phone shut.

Booth listened to the one side of the conversation he could hear and had to infer what Cam was saying. He wanted to hang the phone up when Brennan mentioned weaning herself from the narcotics. He didn't want to see her in pain. He was thankful that it seemed Cam had given her a word of caution at the end. Maybe Bones would listen to her.

Booth directed his attention back to Nichols. "It looks like everyone is doing their job. I'll try to be in tomorrow after Bones' physical therapy appointment. Until then, just try to gather the facts and let me know if you get an identity or if a CREDIBLE suspect emerges." Booth stressed credible. He had seen how Nichols tried to play him and figured she would call as soon as they got the name of the victim's grandmother or something.

He supposed she took the hint because she stood and headed toward the door. He walked behind her, shutting the door as she left. He was thankful that she was gone.

He looked at his Bones who was sitting very still on the couch with her leg still on the coffee table. It was just after 12:30. "Hey Bones, do you want lunch or something?"

She had closed her eyes and spoke without opening them. "No, I'm okay."

He looked at her again and could tell she was lying, in part. He figured she really didn't want food. She skipped lunch a lot. He knew she was lying that she was okay. He knew she was hurting. "Bones, I know you're hurting, but according to that pill bottle, you can take the meds every six hours. It's still too early. You want me to try to help you a little?"

She just nodded and that was all of the answer he needed. He was a little surprised at her willingness, but realized she had actually been doing well with letting people help her since this all started.

He went to the couch and sat in the seat Nichols had been occupying. He took the ice off packs off her leg and helped her shift so that she was actually lying on the couch with her legs resting in his lap. He did what he had done several times over the last two weeks and massaged her calf and thigh. He could hear her wince from time to time, but she didn't pull away so he assumed he wasn't hurting her. He kept his touch gentle. He knew that Marc used more force, but he wanted to make her feel better not hurt her. He knew the therapist was helping, but he wasn't her therapist. He'd leave the inflicting of pain for the sake of healing to Marc.

As Brennan relaxed, Booth could feel her muscles going from tensed to relaxed. He didn't expect her to speak but she did. "Booth, I think you may have missed your calling. You could definitely be a massage therapist." He just smiled as she spoke. The statement was very un-Bones like and was almost funny.

He thought about responding, but looked at her and realized she was falling asleep. He rubbed her legs a little more as she drifted. When he was sure she was asleep, he grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and covered her up. He used the remote to turn on the TV, making sure the volume was down. He watched a little TV, but quickly found himself drifting. He wasn't sleepy, just comfortable. This was where he belonged.


	31. Compartmentalizing

**A/N - Sorry for the delay, I got distracted by the DVD release on Tuesday and yesterday's episode. I really like the new episode. I hope they continue to roll out the good ones for us. Anyway, thanks for all of your reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I wrote it at several different points instead of at one sitting like I usually do. I hope it's still ok. Please continue to review and let me know what you think.**

Disclaimer - Bones belongs to Fox. This is for entertainment only.

Chapter 31

Oddly enough, Brennan woke before Booth and was a little surprised that she found him sleeping on the couch next to her. Her legs were still on his lap. She checked the clock and it read 2:30. She knew she had be requiring a lot of Booth over the last couple of weeks and decided to let him sleep, if she could manage to get up without waking him.

She slowly and carefully moved her legs out of his lap and managed to get up without making him stir too much. She felt better than before she had fallen asleep, maybe better than she had felt since surgery. She wondered what made the big difference, surely one simple massage from Booth wouldn't help that much. The swelling had to be going down, that was the logical explanation.

She made her way into the kitchen and order lunch for them. She opted to order from a delivery place that she knew had pie that Booth liked. She ordered a salad for herself and a hamburger, fries, and whole cherry pie for Booth. She wanted to do something small for him for helping her out. When she could actually walk, she would do more, but for now, she would stick to the simple things.

She made her way to her bedroom and bathroom. She freshened up a little bit and then picked her cell phone out of her pocket and called Angela.

"Hey Ange," Brennan spoke quietly to keep from waking sleeping Booth even though she was still in her bedroom sitting on her bed.

"_Hey Bren, are you doing better?" _The artist asked.

"Actually I am. I think that the swelling's going down slightly." That was what it was. "I just wish I could make it without the narcotics so I can get back to work." Brennan told her friend who could already tell what she was thinking.

Angela was pleased that her friend felt better. She figured she might as well take the opportunity to plant a few ideas in her friends mind. "_So, Bren, I've been digging around a little and I haven't been able to come up with anything in all of the Jeffersonian manuals that says a hot scientist can't date a piece of FBI eye candy while they work together._"

Brennan stopped her before she could get any further. "Angela, give it a rest. I really don't even think Booth wants to pursue a relationship. Sure, we are close, but it's the result of spending time together. It really doesn't matter what I want and I'm not sure I even know what I want."

"_Brennan – you seriously need therapy if you can't see the way Booth looks at you sometimes. He adores you and more importantly, he hurts when you hurt. He was so nervous at the hospital the other day. He wants more, trust me._" Angela hoped her words would register with her hard-headed friend.

"Angela, I know he cares about me, but it's not adoration. In a few days, I'll be okay to stay by myself and Booth can go back home. Then, he'll probably find a new love interest. I think Nichols wants to hook up with him. She's more his type anyway." Brennan explained to her friend.

Angela sighed at the lost cause that she called her friend. "_Brennan, he can't stand Nichols. He's just putting up with her until you can get back_."

"Angela, I'm really finished talking about it. I just have to accept that what we are is partners, it's how it has to be." She was pretty resolute despite her inner desires to know Booth on a romantic level. She accepted that love and feelings weren't real. She wasn't sure what had come over her to admit to Angela that she had feelings for Booth. It must have been her medicines or pain. She was still on medicine, but was thinking more clearly now, she understood that it couldn't develop into a romantic relationship.

"So, can you scan all the remains that Nichols sent over into the Angelator. I'm not sure what the cause of death was and the intern hasn't uploaded the pictures yet." Brennan spoke very scientifically, she was finished talking about Booth.

Angela just sighed at the shift in conversation her friend had just forced. "_Sure sweetie, I'll take care of it and check with the intern. Feel better and don't close the door on anything Brennan._"

Brennan didn't even qualify her friend's statement. "Bye Ange, let me know what you need from me." Brennan ended the call on her cell phone and went back into the living room to wait on the take out.

Angela sat back in her chair in her office. She knew what her friend was doing, she had seen her do it many times before. She was convincing herself that what she wanted wasn't an option and was being clinical about it. She was compartmentalizing. Frankly, Angela was surprised that Brennan had admitted her feelings to her last week, but she did. Now it was her job to make sure her friend acted. It would take some work, but the artist was crafty and would figure it out eventually. She only hoped that Booth wouldn't give up on her in the mean time, she knew he wouldn't.

Brennan kept an eye out for the delivery person and when she heard the knock, opened the door quickly to let him in. She stayed quiet and handed him more than enough money after he sat the food on the table by the door. She thanked him and then worked to get the food onto the table.

In a few short minutes, everything was ready and she decided to wake Booth up. "Hey Booth," she opted for the abrupt awakening rather than the gentle one he always gave her.

He popped up on the couch and rubbed his hand over his face. "Bones, why'd you let me sleep that long?" Before she was even able to answer, he spotted the cherry pie she had ordered. "Bones, whoa, you got me pie? I thought that was against your religion or something."

"Booth, you know I'm not a religious person, and yes I got you pie. I don't like my fruit cooked, remember. I wouldn't have ordered it for myself." She completely missed that Booth was just using a figure of speech, again.

"I know Bones, it was a rhetorical question." He made his way to the table. "Bones, you shouldn't have done this, you are supposed to be resting." He was concerned that she would do too much too fast, but she certainly looked better than she had that morning.

"Booth, I'm feeling better. I just checked and my fever's almost gone. Just eat your food; I don't want your pie to get cold or something." She said as she sat down and pulled another chair up to put her left leg on. It did feel better, but that really wasn't saying much. She felt better, but it still hurt like hell.

They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes until Brennan spoke, "You know Booth, I didn't know snipers could sleep so hard. You were pretty out of it."

He just shook his head, "You know Bones, it was a completely different situation." He made the simple statement. It was true, but he also knew that he was still pretty tired from the sleep he missed over the weekend and when he wasn't working, he often slept a lot. He was more tired when his mind was idle. He didn't mind being off work, but if his mind wasn't constantly thinking about a case, he would always get tired. The only exception was if he had Parker. How could anyone sleep with a bouncing 6 year old hanging around?

"I know Booth. So, are you going to go back to work tomorrow? I know you want to get to work on the case." Brennan brought up the topic, she didn't want him to go back to work, but had realized that he needed to. She was going to be okay and he needed to focus on his life not hers. She also knew that the longer he stayed, the harder it would be for her to compartmentalize her feelings and keep them from coming to the surface.

Booth was surprised at the statement. "Bones, I'll do whatever you want me to do. I want to take you to therapy and then we can see after that. If he mauls you like he did in the hospital, I won't be comfortable with leaving you alone afterwards." Booth hated leaving her when she was hurt.

Brennan flashed him a smile. "Thanks Booth. I'll be fine. Maybe my dad could come over for a while anyway." She hoped that would help encourage him that she would be fine. "My appointment's early so if you want to go, you could bring me home and then go to work."

He didn't like it, but understood that she was trying to get him to leave. He refused to push her. He just nodded his head and said, "Okay, Bones, that's fine, but I'm making sure you're okay before I go. If I have to dope you up with painkillers, I will."

Brennan just laughed. She understood, she wouldn't want him to hurt either.

They finished eating and Brennan started to fumble with the dishes when Booth stopped her. "Bones, I'll get it, you need to keep that ankle elevated." He decided to mess with her a little. "Unless you are trying to get a few extra days off work all because you don't follow the orders the doctor gave you."

She didn't understand, but went to the couch anyway. "Booth, why would I want to have extra days off of work? I like work." She picked up her laptop and worked a little. There wasn't much to look at posted about the case, so she turned on the TV. She was excited when she found _Dr. G: Medical Examiner_ on again.

Booth was still in the kitchen cleaning the dishes when he heard the TV come on. "Bones, come on, not that again. Don't you ever want to get away from blood and goo for a few minutes. Besides, I thought you didn't like flesh and that---looks pretty fleshy to me." He had come back into the living room just in time to see Dr. G use a rib spreader to open a chest.

"I never said I didn't like flesh, just that I didn't work with flesh. I actually like this show, I am enjoying viewing some of her techniques. It will make me more aware of what I am dealing with sometimes when flesh is present." She explained her reasoning to Booth who, for some reason, was smiling.

Booth just grinned and thought to himself, 'Bones, say it as scientificly as you want, but you are addicted to a television show.' He was pretty sure that had never happened before.

He didn't complain further, just sat on the couch beside her and occasionally glanced at her to admire her beauty. He thought about his feelings and still couldn't figure out when or if he should tell her. He would make it a point to check with Caroline tomorrow about her little favor. He was afraid of what it would reveal, but at least he would have an answer.

After a couple of hours of being lazy, it was 5:30. Lunch had been late and Booth wasn't hungry but he was noticing that his Bones didn't seem as comfortable. She was shifting and kept laying her head back and closing her eyes.

After a few minutes, he had waited long enough. "Did you take your medicine Bones?" He asked bluntly, it worked best most of the time.

She rolled her eyes at him. 'How can he always tell when I'm hurting,' she thought to herself. She sighed and answered. "I took the antibiotics, but not the pain meds. I really want to go back to work and can't if I can't go without the narcotics." She knew she shouldn't wait for the pain to tell her when she needed meds, but she had to try to control it without the meds.

Booth didn't say anything; it wouldn't be worth it. He just got up, got her the medicine and handed it to her along with a glass of water. She took it without complaint.

Booth knew she needed to do her exercises and electrotherapy, but knew if she tried right now, it would kill her. "Hey Bones, when you feel the medicine kick in, let me know, and I get that mini electric chair for you."

She thought about commenting how the voltage and amperage where very different, but let it slide; she was hurting and didn't want to talk.

She was zoned out, so he changed the TV to a more alpha male appropriate program, wrestling, and waited on her to complain. That never happened. After a few minutes, he could tell she had fallen back asleep. He knew she hated that part about the pain killers. She rarely slept and now was probably sleeping more than she ever had in her life.

He woke her; she needed to do the painful stuff while she was "high" on drugs. "Hey Bones, you need to get started on the exercises. It's 6:15."

She nodded, shifted up, and started working on them. It wasn't easy. She couldn't feel improvement yet. She didn't expect to, just hoped it would happen. She finished up and put the electrodes on. Booth had the machine portion in his hands and she nodded for him to start. She laid her head back and focused on thinking, she had to think or the pain would get the best of her.

The entire process of exercises and electricity took 30 minutes and just a few minutes after, she was lying on the couch, leg elevated and iced from ankle to thigh. Booth had taken care of everything.

"Bones, I'm going to cook something. I'm tired of take out." Booth stood up and started puttering around in the kitchen.

Around 8:00, he woke the sleeping Bones on the couch up and told her dinner was ready. She went to the table and noticed he had everything set up, including the chair for her to put her leg in. She noticed he had cooked grilled chicken and mixed vegetables. It honestly looked very good.

"Booth, it looks great." She started eating and smiled at him.

"What Bones? Didn't think I could cook did you?" He posed the question to her as he started eating himself.

She smiled, "No Booth, I figured you were more of a prepared foods person. I've just never seen you cook."

Booth gave her a large smile and then said, "Well, my mother taught me well." He didn't dwell on the statement, just went right back to eating.

Brennan noticed the quick statement about Booth's mother and wanted to prod, but chose not to. He had only mentioned his mom a few times and Brennan knew both of his parents had passed away, but didn't know the context. Maybe someday he would tell her.

They ate, cleaned up, and went back to the living room. Brennan was bored, but didn't really feel up to doing anything. She was surprised that she could feel unmotivated. She felt well, but pain was present. She also had a comfortable feeling. She knew that was an effect of the drugs.

Around 10:00, Brennan went to bed, leaving Booth in the living room. He grabbed her laptop to check his email. He noticed a couple from Nichols informing him about completely unimportant aspects of the case. His eyes grew wide as he noticed one in his inbox from Caroline. He checke and saw that the subject line included one simple word, Favor. Booth took a deep breath to try and clear the sick feeling in his stomach and clicked on the message.


	32. First Session

**A/N - Once again sorry for the slight delay. I was hoping to have this one up last night, but it didn't happen. I hope everyone is still enjoying the story. I'm going to get more into the case soon and hopefully get Brennan back to work in a few days. She'll, of course, need help. I'm taking the B/B relationship very slowly. I would imagine that's how it would / should happen. Please continue to read and review. Thanks for all the comments!**

Disclaimer - Bones and all the characters belong to Fox.

Chapter 32

Booth prepared himself for the worst but hoped for the best as he began reading the email from Caroline. He was thankful for her. She had been a mentor to him in a lot of ways. When he started at the FBI, she helped him truly understand all of the legal mumbo jumbo. More importantly, she respected the work he did and the work of the squints. She was hard on them, but usually accepted spam experiments as evidence. Many other attorneys would not be as accepting.

Booth took a deep breath and read.

_Cher,_

_I'm not done, but have done some searching in regards to your little request. I've found a couple of things that might interest you. I wasn't sure how anxious you were to talk with your lady scientist. I assumed you would want to do that while she was still in pain to minimize the beating she could give you otherwise. I am not taking any of the flak from the higher ups when you go on disability from that one. _

_At any rate, section 5 of the contractors' hand book deals with working relationships. It states:_

_Contractors are required to maintain a high level of professionalism in their dealings with FBI staff. Contractors are expected to follow the FBI code of conduct completely during any hours they bill to the FBI. Outside of billed hours, contractors are not subject to FBI guidelines, but are expected to act in a manner that would not compromise the integrity of the work they provide the FBI._

_So, it looks like Dr. Genius could date you if she wanted to, but I'm still working on if you would be allowed to date her. There is no mention in the usual FBI handbook, but there are a couple of other places I need to look. In my expert opinion, you're going to be okay to try, Cher. I'll let you know what I find out._

_Please tell me you are working the case Nichols just got handed. She's driving the entire justice department insane with requests when she doesn't even have an identity yet. I'd be more than wiling to hook the good doctor up with an amputation expert if it would get her working sooner. _

_I'll let you know what I find out._

_Caroline_

Booth read the email several times and took it all in. He was encouraged that she hadn't immediately found a policy preventing the relationship. It was better than nothing. Even if he had been given the all clear, he wouldn't know where to start. His Bones was already trying to push back and be more independent. In some ways, he was glad. He didn't want her to feel like she was only committing because she needed him. He wanted her to see that he loved her; her injury gave him to opportunity to show her.

Booth finished up a little work and checked several football websites. He hadn't been watching much recently, but still kept up with everything. Maybe someday he could get her to go to a game with him. He also checked a few hockey blogs. So far, he had been watching scrimmages and preseason games. The real season was set to open at the end of the month and he couldn't wait. He was supposed to play in a law enforcement league with some of his FBI buddies. He hadn't officially committed, but always played. He'd had a little trouble with his back last season and this earlier in the fall, but since Bones fixed it, he felt better. He decided to email the team captain and go ahead and commit. Maybe Bones and the other squints would come watch him sometime.

He'd love to show her how to skate but that would definitely be out for this year. Maybe next year he could get her to try as long as her ankle was strong enough. Booth had been lucky; he had avoided ankle injuries even through all his years of playing hockey. His feet hurt, but it was because of his torture, but it really wasn't too bad, even on skates.

Around 11:30, Booth went to bed, sleep didn't come easily. His mind was racing with thoughts of Caroline's email. Hopefully he could sort this mess out. Whatever happened, he would be content as long as Bones was happy. That's all he wanted and was what she deserved.

After his six hours of sleeping on and off, Booth woke up, got out of bed, and started his morning routine. He ran, showered, got ready, and had breakfast ready by 7:15. Brennan was still sleeping. He had taken a glass of water and some pain meds into her bedroom last night while she was sitting on the couch. He thought she might need it during the night. He figured if she was still asleep, she must have taken it.

Booth prepared to meet his maker as he walked quietly into her bedroom. He wanted to let her sleep, but she had to be at therapy by 9:00 and she needed to go. He softly sat on the side of her bed and whispered "Hey Bones, it's time to get up." She didn't stir, so he tried harder. He shook her as he said, "Come on Bones, you gotta get up unless you plan on going to therapy with bed head."

After a couple more attempts, she finally turned onto her back from her side and slowly sat up. Booth instinctively unhooked the cooling unit and waited until she completely opened her eyes. He loved her eyes; they made him smile, so he did. "Morning Bones," he said when he thought it was safe to speak.

"Booth, you're in my bedroom." She grinned a little as she said it. She actually liked it, but had to mention it to him.

"I've been in here lots of time before, Bones." He couldn't figure out why she had commented about that. In case he was making her uncomfortable, he stood and started to back out of her room.

"I know you have Booth, I'm just saying you have never been here while I was sleeping, it's kind of stalkerish." She smiled as she spoke and he realized she wasn't uncomfortable, just making an observation.

Booth thought for a moment about what she said. Obviously, she hadn't been aware of all the times he had stared at her while she was sleeping on the couch – or all the times he had kissed her. If she did know, she was hiding it well.

"Oh, okay Bones. Anyway, you need to get up and get moving. Breakfast is ready." He stood and shot her a charming smile while he handed her the crutches.

She shook her head at him, grabbed the crutches from him sharply, and followed him into the kitchen.

They ate breakfast and Brennan left to get ready. Both made a couple of phone calls as he waited for her to finish. He even called Nichols and tried to calm her down. It was the least he could do for Caroline. He told her he was planning on being in a little before lunch. She updated him on the status of the case and he made a mental game plan for the afternoon. He wouldn't work late; he refused to leave Bones for that long right now.

Finally, Brennan finished getting ready and made her way back into the kitchen. Booth stood and looked at her dressed very casually. She was wearing another long sleeved t-shirt. This one was from Georgetown instead of Northwestern. Instead of jeans, she was wearing a pair of athletic pants. She must not have slept very well if she wasn't dressed in at least a pair of jeans. Her hair was pulled back in a pony tail. She only wore her hair up for three things - work, formals, and when she didn't feel well. He knew it was going to be a rough morning.

He remembered their time in New Orleans. She was pretty roughed up but kept on working. She kept her hair up the entire time. He hated thinking about that, the bruises on her chest and arms were awful. He hated seeing her that hurt and vulnerable. They didn't talk about it much, but he was pretty sure she was still troubled by the fact that she couldn't remember what happened to her.

Booth forced himself to stop thinking and said, "Ready to go Bones?"

She nodded and he grabbed her bag from the table by the door. He made sure to wrap the strap around it and tuck it under his arm so that he wouldn't look like it belonged to him. He had to maintain his level of manhood. He held the door as she made her way out.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the physical therapist's office. Booth noticed that it was more like a gym than anything else. There were all types of treadmills, bikes, weights, and even a pool and hot tub. It was much nicer than the place he worked out.

They made their way to the information desk and she signed in. The receptionist directed her to the small waiting area outside Marc's office. They went back and waited.

In just a couple of minutes, Marc emerged and shook both of their hands. "How are you feeling Temperance?"

"I'm fine," she answered quickly. Booth cut his eyes at her. He could tell when she was lying and that was a lie.

"Good, since you're feeling up to it, let's go ahead and take a walk around. I'll show you where everything is. You are going to spend plenty of time here and I want you to feel comfortable." Marc led and described the facility as the pair followed.

Booth placed his hand on Brennan's back. She noticed him putting it there and was glad he did. She was tired and wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed.

She had trouble sleeping the night before for some reason. It wasn't just the pain but it did play a big part. Her thoughts were everywhere. She thought about what Angela had said and how committed Booth had been to her. She didn't know why he would be nice to her. He certainly could have any woman he wanted, but chose to spend time with her instead. Could he really have feelings for her?

Marc finished his tour and led Brennan into a simple room, much like a doctor's exam room. He instructed her to get up on the table. She looked at it and cut her eyes to Booth. The way the table was positioned and its height was going to make getting on it a problem for Brennan.

Booth knew what she was thinking and gave her a nod. She handed him her crutches as she stood on her right leg. He leaned the crutches against the wall and gave her his arm. As she used her other arm to get onto the table, he lifted her slightly. He was careful to make sure she did the work. He would help her, but knew she wanted to do the work, especially when others were watching.

Marc gave her a few minutes to get comfortable on the table and then started with her. "How's the right leg?" He asked as he started massaging the left.

"Since I've been off of it for the most part, it feels better." She explained.

"That's good. Did you use the electro unit twice yesterday?" He continued working her leg. She was pretty silent, only letting out the occasional wince.

"Yes, it's not a pleasurable activity." She was honest with him.

Booth wanted to speak up and tell him that she would never use that thing again, but knew that she would have to feel pain in order to heal. This was probably just the start of a long road of painful therapy for her. He hated it.

Marc spoke again as he finished massaging her left leg. "I'm not going to work with your right leg today since you aren't experiencing any pain. At the first sign of pain or cramping, let me know. How's your overall pain management going?"

"It's okay, I'm pretty much taking the Lortab on schedule, sometimes though, I begin to hurt before the times up. Other times, I could probably go longer." She had really been trying to stay on schedule with the medicine. The times she tried to skip doses had been disastrous; she had decided she should concede to the doctor's expertise.

Marc knew where she was going with it. "Don't try to skip doses. The pain meds will help you heal more quickly. If you have break through pain, you could take ibuprofen. Jameson has that marked in your chart." She nodded as he explained the dosage.

Marc began instructing her to do a few exercises. They were fairly simple. She couldn't do much with the cast on, moving her toes was about the extent of motion below her knee. He had her work on moving her thigh and calf muscle a little. Trying to do anything with her calf hurt too much, she couldn't do it. She was pretty sure that was the first time she had not been able to do something that was asked of her, ever.

"Temperance, don't worry that you can't do that. You have a lot stacked against you for those exercises. You movement is limited because of the cast and you are probably still too swollen anyway. We just have to try." Marc was sensitive to the type person he was dealing with. He could tell she was driven.

By this point, Brennan was a mess, she was exhausted, discouraged, and hurting and the worst part was yet to come. She did not want to hear what Marc had to say next.

"I'm going to start you on three different locations for the electrical stimulation. We need to go a little lower to stimulate the healing in your ankle. I'm sorry." He knew she wouldn't be happy. He shot a glance toward Booth and was sure he would draw a gun on him.

Brennan just nodded and said, "I understand."

He placed the electrodes and started the cycles. Brennan handled it well through the thigh, but about half way through the upper calf, she began to grit her teeth.

As that cycle finished, Marc prepared to move the electrodes down a little lower on her calf to work on the smaller muscles that give the range of motion to the ankle. "Do you need a minute?" He asked.

Brennan didn't speak, she couldn't. She just shook her head. She wanted it over.

He actually placed the electrodes slightly under her cast. He took advantage of the small space that was between her leg and the cast. "It looks like your swelling has gone down slightly, not much, but there is a space of couple of millimeters there."

He patted her leg and looked at Booth with a remorseful expression. Booth didn't like the fact that he did that. That means it's going to really hurt her. He stood up from his chair and stood by her head. She had her eyes closed in expectation and Marc gave Booth a nod as he turned the dial sending the first pulse through Brennan.

She managed not to make noise, but jumped at the feeling. Marc noticed and spoke, "Temperance, try to stay still. I know it hurts, but your movements can make it worse."

Wave after wave of electricity passed through her and with each one, it became harder and harder from Brennan to contain herself. About halfway through, she gave up and let the tears fall. Booth held her hand and used the other to stroke her hair. He couldn't do much to help her, but he could do that.

After what seemed like an eternity for both of them, Marc turned the unit off and took the electrodes off her leg. He stepped out, returned with several flat ice wraps, and put them on the appropriate locations on her leg. He wrote in her chart for a couple of minutes. He seemed to be giving her some time to regain her composure.

After a few minutes, she started to shift. Booth let out a sigh of relief. At least he didn't have to shoot Marc today. He looked at her and mouthed "Okay?" as soon as she focused on him.

She didn't speak; she just nodded and shifted a little more. Her movement caught Marc's attention.

"I'm really sorry, Temperance. I know those cycles hurt, but it will get better and it will help with your recovery." He was compassionate as he spoke. "I want you to keep icing it as you have been and go ahead and start with the three locations for the electro therapy. You can wait and start the three tomorrow. Stick with the two locations for tonight. I'll see you at the same time on Saturday."

Booth's interest was peaked. "You work seven days a week, man?" He asked him casually. He wasn't sure what to think of this guy. He knew that he was a good physical therapist, but didn't like that he seemed to look at his Bones from time to time. Hopefully it was nothing, but he wanted to make sure.

Marc didn't notice that Booth was interrogating him, so he answered honestly. "Not usually, but I'm not comfortable turning her over to one of our weekend staff yet. Her level of pain is too high right now and if the electrodes aren't connected correctly, she'll experience too much pain."

Booth nodded. He was thankful that he was helping her avoid pain, but he would definitely keep an eye on his interactions with Bones.

Booth was finished with Marc and directed his attention back to where it belonged. "Bones, you ready to go?"

She nodded and he grabbed her crutches. He stabilized her as she slid off the table and took the crutches from him.

They made their way out of the building and back to Booth's SUV in silence. Booth didn't like quiet Bones so he asked a few questions to get her talking.

"Bones, is your dad going to come over today?" He hoped she had actually asked him. She didn't need to be alone right now.

She looked at Booth and smiled a little at his apparent protectiveness. "Yes, Booth. He said he would be over around 12:00 and was bringing lunch. I'm not going to be moving much between now and then, so don't worry about it. I'll be fine."

They finished the short trip to her apartment in silence and made their way back upstairs. She immediately went to lie down on the couch. She was tired before therapy, but now was completely exhausted and was mentally drained. Booth was obviously getting a few things ready for her when he asked, "Hey Bones, what time did you take that medicine last night?"

She already had her eyes closed, but wasn't sleeping. "About 4:00," was the answer she provided without moving a muscle.

He looked at the clock that read 10:30, grabbed a glass of water and a pill and handed it to her. She sat up slightly and took it willingly.

Booth worked to ready a few more things for her and put the cooling unit back on the coffee table. He knew she needed it on right now, but wouldn't want to be touched or move to put her foot in it. He just left it out so she could get it easily. He also put her laptop and a few other items within arms reach for her.

He was almost ready to leave and noticed that she was sleeping, her breathing even. He grabbed the remote and turned on the Discovery Health Channel to drown out the noises coming from the street for her. He laughed as he realized he had that channel memorized. 'Never thought that would happen,' he thought to himself.

He walked over to her, wiped a few stray hairs off her face, and threw a throw blanket over her. "Bones, we'll get you through this. I promise. Just keep doing what you're doing and let me help. We'll be fine." He spoke softly as he placed a gentle, undetected kiss in her hair. He loved the smell of her hair and took the opportunity to take in her scent.

He turned off a few lights and pulled the blinds as he left to go to work. He hated going without her, but soon she would be back. That was what kept him going.


	33. Father and Daughter

**A/N - After doing so great with updates last week, I am failing you all this week. I had a huge thing to do for work that was due today so I had to devote my writing time to that. I hope to get one more update up before I go out of town for Thanksgiving. No internet at the inlaws. I'll be back Friday and hopefully will have the time to write all I want. Thank you so much for the kind reviews. I am even thinking of writing a few oneshots now that I'm more comfortable with putting stuff out there. Please, continue to let me know what you think.**

Disclaimer - Bones belongs to Fox.

Chapter 33

Booth left Brennan's apartment and went to the Hoover for the first time in several days. He first stopped by Cullen's office to give him a status update on the new case. He poked his head into the deputy director's door and saw that he was on the phone. Cullen popped his head up and motioned for Booth to go ahead and take a seat while he finished up his conversation.

"Booth, how's Dr. Brennan?" Cullen asked Booth. Booth was a little surprised for that to be the first question.

"She's in a lot of pain right now, but she seems to be getting a little bit better. They are dragging her through the wringer at physical therapy though. She wants to get back to work, but just can't yet, unless you want a highly medicated forensic anthropologist working with your cases." Booth didn't go into great detail, but wanted to be honest. He was of the opinion that Cullen liked Bones even though he was sure he would deny it.

Cullen nodded his head at Booth. He laughed a little at the thought of Brennan on medication. "Good, hopefully she will be able to make a quick recovery. You and Brennan make much better partners than you and Nichols. She's got a lot to learn, Booth." Cullen apparently knew something, but it didn't come from Booth. Booth gave him a surprised look that would hopefully elicit some clarification.

He was right and Cullen elaborated. "Oh, come on Booth, I'm the deputy director, I hear things. I've heard that Nichols is a pain in the rear and has ambitions beyond a temporary partnership with you."

Booth just nodded and told Cullen a few of his encounters with Nichols. He was careful not to whine and to praise Nichols for what she did well. He wasn't in the business of being petty. "Sir, I'm sure she will be a fine agent with time, but I have no desire to work with anyone other than Dr. Brennan. It's what I do best."

"Good, now, what do you have planned for this case?" Cullen got back to business.

"I've looked over the initial file and Bones looked at some of the pictures and has Angela scanning the bones into her software programs. Hopefully she will be able to look at it a little this evening. I'm not sure how far we will get on the case without her. Angela can probably get us identity, but that's about it. Brennan didn't notice an obvious cause of death from the pictures. It may be one of those squinty, microscopic things she has to do, but we'll have to see. She did tell us that the victim was a female in her early twenties with some type of old pelvic injury but that was all she could give from the pictures." Booth told the deputy director all he knew.

Cullen took it all in. "Okay, can Dr. Saroyan help with this at all, or is there an intern there that could help?"

Booth shook his head, "No sir. Cam can't really do much when the tissue is all gone. The intern of the week is spotty at best. I'd rather not have him messing with the bones without Bones there."

Cullen agreed, but hated that they would have to wait. "Fair enough Booth. When do you think she will get back?"

"She's shooting for Monday, but she has an orthopedic appointment and physical therapy that day, so it might be Tuesday." Booth hoped she would just wait until Tuesday and give herself another day to rest, but he doubted she would agree.

"Alright Booth, just keep me updated and try to keep Nichols from driving the entire justice department to drinking." Cullen was kidding, but there was some merit in his statement.

"Yes sir." Booth stood to leave. He had to find Nichols and head to the lab and see what they could do.

As Booth expected, he found Nichols in the bullpen talking with a ton of other agents about her case. He just rolled his eyes as she attempted to explain a few things about the remains and was way off base. 'How many more days until Bones gets back? I need to get a count down calendar like the one I use for Parker at Christmas.' He thought to himself.

He took a deep breath and called to her. "Nichols, let's get to work."

Her reaction completely surprised him. "Booth! I'm so glad you're back. It's just not the same around her without you." She was like a little kid, but completely shocked him when she came up and hugged him. He didn't like that at all.

"Nichols, I was only out for 3 days. Give it a rest. We need to get over to the Jeffersonian and try to get moving on this case." Booth was not excited about this new, bubbly side of Nichols. She was certainly trying her best to get under his skin.

Nichols nodded and followed him out the door.

The pair rode in silence to the lab and walked in. Booth was greeted with welcomes and the group, Cam, Hodgins, Angela, and Sweets, did at least acknowledge that Nichols was present.

"Time for playgroup Sweets?" Booth directed his comment to the psychologist. He was too easy to mess with.

Sweets didn't even qualify the statement and gave his reason for being there. "It's boring at the Hoover today so I decided to come observe the team in the working environment. I figured it would give me some interesting information to write in the book I'm writing about you and Brennan." Sweets explained.

Nichols cut her wandering eyes to Sweets. "Wait, you are writing a book about them?" The statement grabbed the entire team's attention.

Sweets sensed the frustration in Nichols' voice and said, "Does that bother you?" He used his typical psychologist voice.

Nichols obviously realized how she reacted and worked to gloss over her statement. "No, I think it's quite interesting. They are good partners. If she gets back in the field, I'll be interested to see them work together."

Nichols was lucky she didn't receive four punches, with the IF in the statement. Sweets did respond in his manner of aggression. He gave her his best psychologist glare.

Booth was angered, but the quicker they got to work, the quicker he could check on Bones. It was around noon already. He just hoped Max got to her apartment and that she was resting. He snapped back to reality and said. "Okay squints; we have a case to solve. What do you have for me?"

Cam spoke first. "Not much, these bones are definitely way beyond the point of having any 'bone wrapping'. I can tell you that there is no direct evidence of bone trauma. I'm not going to be much help on this one."

Angela went next. "Well, I scanned all of the bones into the Angelator. I'll let Bren know when I talk to her. I also have this sketch of the victim. I used the age and stature figures Brennan provided. I'm running the image against the Maryland and Virginia DMV photos right now and have requested dentals from the FBI, but I'm still waiting." She finished briefing him on what little she knew and questioned him on a more personal level. "How was therapy this morning?"

Booth looked at her and gave her a furrowed brow hoping she would read his facial expression along with his one word answer. "Rough," was all he said. It was all he needed to say. Angela nodded in understanding.

Hodgins spoke next. "I'm running some tests on the soil to see if I can get a general time of death. I'm still sorting through some bins of evidence to see what kind of insect remains and other goodies I can find."

Booth understood that what they were telling him was that they had essentially nothing. "Okay, keep working. Angela, I'll get the dentals for you. I'm not sure why they haven't been sent. Let me know if you get anything."

With that, Booth left the platform and Nichols followed suit. As they left, he spoke to her. "You did request that the dentals get released to the lab right?"

She looked at him. "Well, I did get them pulled, but figured our people would do a better job of matching than the Jeffersonian folks would. I mean the FBI solves murders not scientists, right?"

'Here we go again,' thought Booth. He tried to remain calm as he spoke. "No – not right. We solve crimes because scientists help us. Why do you think my success rate is higher than all the rest of the agents in the country?"

Nichols could only shrug her shoulders in response. She just figured he was a good agent.

"My close rate is high because I have a team that helps me. Those guys in there are amazing and if I find out that you are holding anything from them because you think you can do a better job on it, you will regret it." Booth remained stern, but avoided yelling.

The pair climbed back into the SUV in silence and made their way back to the Hoover. When he parked, he got out of the car and prepared Nichols to get the squints what they needed. "Okay, I'm going to do paperwork since we have to wait a while. You are going to go get the dentals and personally deliver them to Angela on a jump drive or cd or something."

She began to protest by saying "I don't," when Booth interrupted her.

"You find someone who can help you figure it out." He knew she didn't know how to get the dentals loaded on a cd or jump drive, but if she was so good that she could solve crimes alone, she could figure it out.

Nichols only nodded. She realized that she had screwed up. She made a commitment to tone it down a little and get back on Booth's good side. They had several months to work together. Obviously, he didn't respond to flirting or other trivial things. She would just have to figure out what he did respond to.

Meanwhile, back at Brennan's apartment, Max arrived right around lunch carrying soup and snicker doodles. He let himself in and found his beautiful daughter sleeping on the couch. She looked peaceful so he didn't wake her. He just placed a simple kiss on her cheek and went into the kitchen to warm up the soup. He bought it at the diner, but it was a little chilly outside and he figured it was cold by now.

He was quiet for a while but got louder as time went on. He figured she would need to wake up and take some medicine eventually. As he stirred the soup rather loudly, his daughter began to wake. "Hey Baby," he said. "Are you feeling better?"

She was still working to clear her head of the fuzzy after sleep feeling. "Yeah Dad, I am actually." She took some medicine even though her pain wasn't as severe as before she slept, grabbed her crutches, and went back to her bedroom to freshen up. She looked at the clock and was a little surprised that she had slept for about three hours. It was close to 1:30.

She came back and noticed that her dad had put some bowls of what looked like vegetable soup on the table. He pulled a chair out for her a little and pushed another one up a little so she could put her foot in it. At that very moment, she realized that her father and Booth were alike in many ways, especially in their treatment of women. She thought back to how he had treated her mom as she was growing up. He was always attentive to every need. If she was sick, he took off work to stay with her. He treated her like a queen. She questioned to herself if that was what love meant. If so, could Booth love her? He treated her in much the same way.

"Thanks dad," she said as she sat.

"You're welcome pumpkin. I got soup because I wasn't sure if your throat was still bothering you or not. I figured it would be easier on you." As Max explained his reasoning, she again thought about how much he was like Booth.

"It still hurts a little, but I feel much better." She gave him a smile. She could read him well enough to tell he was worried about her.

They finished eating as they talked about nothing. She was telling him a little about a couple of digs she went on in college and he mostly just listened. He was proud of what she had become and that she had managed to do it in spite of what he did to her.

He grabbed the bowls and brought back a small white box of snicker doodles. She opened the box and smiled as she took one out. "Dad, I lied to you that time you brought me those when you were running from Booth. I do remember them. I just didn't want to remember them back then. I still love them." She smiled as she took a bite of the sugary goodness.

"Thanks Baby," he said, realizing that the admission from her was a big step. He was pretty sure that she was being genuine too. He didn't notice that she was drugged to severely. "So, what do you want to do for the rest of the afternoon?"

"I don't know dad, I need to work on my book and I'm sure Angela has loaded some images for me on Booth's new case by now." She hated saying that. In truth, it was still her case, but not really. She could only work it from the lab. She hated that.

Max just nodded. He was a little disappointed.

She had learned a few things from Booth and could read her dad's reaction. "You know what dad, there is a new deck of cards in the drawer by the door. Do you want to play a few games? Booth has been telling me I need to stop writing while I'm taking pain meds. Something about it making my writing all 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' or something." She offered her dad something she knew would make him happy.

He smiled, laughed at her failure to recognize a Beatles song, and stood to get the cards as she made her way back to the couch. She put her leg up on the table and noticed that Booth must have left the circulation unit out for her. She wrapped it back around her ankle and switched it on. She hated sitting still to use it, but it did seem to be helping. Her cast was beginning to loosen a little. She knew swelling would be an issue for a long time to come, but if it was going down, it was a sign she was beginning to heal.

She and her dad played cards and talked for the remainder of the afternoon. They both told stories about who they were. They were finally father and daughter again and for that, they were both thankful.


	34. Salads and Star Wars

**A/N - I was hoping to have this one up earlier, but the computer has been messing with my mind today. Probably didn't help that I was downloading a ton of stuff on ITunes, but it should be able to go as fast as I can click, right? Anyway, I plan on writing some while I am out of town and hopefully will post this and maybe even a couple of other ideas I have on Friday when I get home. I hope everyone has a great Bonesday today and a great Thanksgiving. Thank you so much for the great reviews. I'm almost at 300, a feat I thought I would never reach, especially not on my first fic. Keep letting me know what you think.**

Disclaimer - Bones belongs to Fox, this is just for fun.

Chapter 34

As Brennan and Max played cards at her apartment, Booth worked to complete some paperwork in his office. He never understood how he could work for hours and not be caught up. He knew he should work a little on paperwork everyday, but when they had a case, he wouldn't give up the time to do it. It was probably part drive to complete the case, part drive to be near Bones.

He had left Nichols a couple of hours ago and hoped that she had done what he ordered. He wasn't going to check up on her. She was a grown woman and if she wanted to ruin her career, he'd let her. If it had been any other case, he would have done it himself, but he knew he wasn't getting far without Bones on this one. He could stand to wait a couple of hours.

Around 4:00, he walked out to pick some reports of the laser printer in the hall when he saw Angela. "Angela, what are you doing here?" The artist rarely came to the Hoover Building and he wasn't sure if she had ever been there without Bones.

She looked a little embarrassed. "Oh, I have a meeting with Sweets, but thought I'd bring by the identity of the girl found on the farm. Nichols brought the dentals over a little while ago. It was a quick match from the missing persons' files. Her name was Abigail Harmon. She's been missing for about two years. She was a college student at Georgetown. She was 21 when she went missing. She was supposed to graduate the following semester." Angela handed Booth the picture of the beautiful and vibrant 21 year old with brown hair and blue eyes.

Booth looked at the folder. Abigail had grown up in Manassas and her parents still lived there. She had a brother and a sister who were both older than her. He looked at the clock. He could go talk the parents now, or wait until tomorrow. He opted to wait to allow Hodgins and the rest of the squints more time to get more answers for the parents. He didn't choose to wait often, but when he had very few answers sometimes, it was best. He would take Angela with him tomorrow to tell the parents.

Booth spoke again, "Would you mind going with me to tell the parents tomorrow. Bones can't and I need someone with me. I could take Nichols, but I'm thinking she's going to have some paperwork to finish tomorrow and will be tied up for the morning." He had every intention of having Nichols push paperwork in the bullpen all morning.

Angela laughed and said, "I understand, paperwork." She knew that the young agent was driving him crazy with her efforts. If she didn't cut it out, she would make her regret it.

They walked back into his office. "Booth, are you ever going to talk to Brennan about how you feel?" The artist was skilled at hiding the fact that she knew how Brennan felt when she talked to Booth. She did the same when talking to Brennan.

Booth exhaled loudly. "It's all about timing with Bones, Angela. I can't push her. If I do, she'll end up running away from me and I'll lose her as a partner too. I don't know if I could live with that." Booth was honest, he wanted her more than anything, but it had to be right. He would much rather have her as a friend if he couldn't have her romantically than to try to hard and lose her all together.

Angela nodded, "I understand Booth, but sometimes things are worth the risk. You'll know when the time is right." She pulled him into a hug. "I've got to run. Sweets doesn't like it when people are late."

Booth just smiled. He knew that, but purposely went to their appointments with Sweets late. It was far too easy to get a rise out of the kid. Booth liked him, but just as he had chosen to ignore Zack as a sign of bonding a couple of years ago, he chose to mess with Sweets. Honestly, he was glad he was around. He was good for the team.

He knew why Angela was going to meet with Sweets. It didn't take a genius to figure that one out. She was supposed to be with Hodgins but was scared. Hopefully, he'd help her find her way back to him.

Booth worked on a few more reports and looked at the clock. It was already 6:00. He was close to catching up five of the nine old case files he had on his desk. He was at least making some progress. He could stay and work and probably finish them that night, but opted to go check on his Bones. He had been gone far too long.

He sent Nichols an email explaining the schedule for the following day. He would meet up with her after lunch to go over the details he got from the parents. They would then go interview any friends or other people of importance. He switched off the computer and he was gone.

Booth thought about grabbing some take out, but wasn't sure what Max had done. If he hadn't done something for dinner, Booth could cook spaghetti. She had everything there to make it.

He pulled up at her apartment and found the pair smiling while playing Black Jack. He laughed at the thought of Bones admitting to counting cards in Las Vegas. He understood what she was saying. How could the casinos make a rule that you couldn't think about what cards had been played? It was a funny memory and if they ever went back, he would have to have he work on her poker face.

Booth spoke to Max first. "Has she been behaving today?" He was kind of playing and partially serious at the comment.

Max understood that he was taking the 'parent who left their child with a babysitter' role and decided to play along. "Yes, Mr. Booth, she's been good." He winked at his daughter who was rolling her eyes.

"You do know that I am a grown woman capable of making my own decisions without two alpha males taking care of me. Plus, I am completely capable of taking you both down." She was doing her best to intimidate, mainly aiming her words at the prime offender – Booth.

"Okay Bones," he got really close to her as he spoke, "there's just one problem. You can't stand up. I have at least another nine weeks on you."

'Crap,' she thought. 'He's right, and he has that look in his eye again.' It's the same look he gave her at the shooting range when they first worked together. She didn't know what it meant, but it was intense.

She chose not to speak, she was basically stunned anyway. He gave her a grin, the grin that she loved and he sat beside her on the couch.

As Booth got close to his daughter, Max looked on in awe. They were meant to be together like he and Christine were. He was pretty sure that Booth was the only person his daughter would let get by with getting in her face like that without loosing an appendage of her choosing. It was a passionate moment between them, but could easily be perceived as an attempt at intimidation by an outsider.

Booth spoke again "So Bones, how's the leg today?" He thought about saying something about how people used to shoot horses that injured their legs since she seemed perky, but opted to avoid the anthropological diatribe that was sure to follow the comment.

She smiled and said, "Better, much better actually." She still hurt, but as long as she was pretty still, the pain was kept at bay. As much as she hated to admit it, the electrotherapy did seem to help a little after the initial pain faded.

Booth was relieved, he just wanted her to feel better and get back in the field with him. Heck he'd even let her tell him about what all the pesticides and stuff did to his reproductive organs if it would help her heal faster.

He decided to broach the topic of dinner. "So Max, are you staying for dinner? I was thinking of making spaghetti."

"No, I've got to run. I need to get a few things done around the house before I help Russ with the girls this weekend." He lied. He actually wanted to give Booth the time alone with his daughter.

Max stood to leave and kissed his daughter on the forehead. "Let me know when you need some help baby. I'll get here as soon as I can."

"Thanks Dad, I'm hoping I will start to get around better this weekend." She explained.

Booth listened as they said their goodbyes. He knew that Bones would want to spend the weekend alone to keep him from feeling obligated. He had Parker Saturday and Sunday and she would insist that they not stick around her house. He'd have to think of something to be able to stick around.

Booth shook Max's hand as he left and went into the kitchen to start some dinner. What surprised him was that in a couple of minutes Bones followed him and grabbed out a couple of things from the refrigerator. "Bones, what are you doing?"

"I'm making a salad to go with the spaghetti." She answered dryly not understanding that he was questioning her action of being up and not what she was making.

"Bones, you really don't need to push it. If you're feeling better, you need to keep taking it easy so that you can get back to work soon." Booth tried to reason with her.

"Booth, I'm fine. I'm not going to let my foot touch the floor. I can handle standing for 20 minutes." She was resolute. She was actually tired of being waited on by everyone.

"Fine, Bones, but please take it easy." He really didn't want her doing to much.

She smiled at him and managed to make her way to the sink to wash some lettuce and other vegetables. Booth watched her as he worked on the sauce. He actually thought she looked really cute figuring out how to manage without letting her foot touch the floor.

After about 30 minutes, dinner was ready and they made their way to the table. As they ate, Booth filled her in about the case and the identity of the victim.

"I could go in tomorrow and work on it." She offered. She really didn't feel like going in yet, but would if he wanted her to. She couldn't remember a time when she had actually not wanted to go into work. She always worked, even when she was sick.

Booth figured she would go in a heartbeat if he gave her the opportunity. "No Bones, you agreed to wait until Monday like Jameson said. You're still taking narcs anyway, so it would be against policy to go in." He hoped appealing to the rule following side of her would keep her resting.

"I know, I'm just bored. I need to do something productive." She was telling the truth.

"Tell you what, we can be bored together. I'll run get us a couple of movies and we can watch one tonight. It'll entertain you." She smiled in response.

They finished eating and Booth cleared the table as she went to change.

Booth was putting the last of the dishes in the dishwasher as she came out wearing yoga pants and a tank top. He couldn't help but look at her chest. She really was beautiful in every way.

She settled herself on the couch and grabbed the electrotherapy unit. He noticed her action and said, "Bones, do you need my help?"

She shook her head, "No Booth, I've got to learn to handle it alone. You won't always be here to do it for me. You can go ahead and get the movies."

He knew she was working toward independence. He dreaded it, but if that's what she needed, he would give it to her. Hopefully it would benefit him in the long run. Eventually the moment would be right for him to talk to her, but not yet.

Booth turned on the dishwasher, grabbed his keys, and ran to the video store to get a few movies. He had an idea of what he could get to entertain her.

Meanwhile, Brennan worked to practice her simple but painful exercises. She still couldn't do several of the things, but she tried. She finished with that and prepared herself for the electrotherapy. She connected the electrodes and quickly turned the dials. She managed to make it through most of it without having to grit her teeth, but the last setting of the calf did her in. She closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and willed the darn thing to break. She knew wanting it to break wouldn't help her. It was an irrational thought. Marc would just give her a new one, but it would give some satisfaction to her.

Finally, she finished up and disconnected the electrodes, but that's all she had the energy to do. She tired to stay really still and concentrate on breathing to relieve the pain. She was amazed at how much a few short minutes of only a few volts could make her hurt so badly.

Booth came back into her apartment and was a little surprised to find her with her head laid on the back of the couch. Her jaw was set and eyes tightly shut. He knew exactly what she needed. He didn't even have to speak.

He grabbed a couple of ice packs and filled them. He walked quietly into the living room, put them in the offending locations and sat quietly beside her. After a few minutes, she opened her eyes. "Thanks Booth," she said as she closed her eyes again.

"No problem Bones. It's 8:00. What time did you last take medicine?" He was asking so she wouldn't have to move to get it. He hoped she wouldn't think he was going alpha male on her.

"Around 1:45. Do you mind getting it for me?" He was glad she asked and he didn't have to push.

Booth did as requested and handed her the pill bottles. He could let her get them herself. That would allow her some independence.

She took a pain killer and the antibiotic. She was thankful she only had a few more days to take those. Her fever was completely gone now. It must have just been a reaction to pain and the percocet. She was thankful for that.

About 10 minutes later, she finally perked up. She still hurt, but could function. Booth seized the opportunity. "Okay, so I got us a few movies. Which one do you want to watch first?" He asked as he handed her 3 DVD sleeves.

She looked and laughed. He had gotten a collection of Clare Bow, _True Grit _with John Wayne, and _Star Wars._ She gave him a look.

"What, I knew you would like the first two and Star Wars is so you would understand what Sweets and Daisy are referring to when they Star Wars us." He had a million dollar smile on her face.

She just laughed and handed him Star Wars to put in the DVD player.

They sat silently and watched the movie. Brennan was surprised that she actually enjoyed elements of it. It was pure fiction of course, but she enjoyed it.

After the end credits ran, Booth looked over and found his partner had fallen asleep. He debated taking her into the bedroom and opted to let her sleep on the couch. He got up and carefully lifted her legs onto the couch, careful to elevate her left one. He put the cooling unit back on her. She had disconnected it at some point during the movie. He then put a blanket over her. She looked very peaceful and content.

He wasn't sure how asleep she was, so he opted not to kiss her. He wanted to, but didn't need to ruin all his hard work on getting her to let him help by taking one kiss too many. He settled on sweeping a few stray strands of hair out of her eyes and saying, "Sleep tight Bones. Tomorrow you are one day closer to riding with me again."

With that, he went back to his bedroom and went to sleep. It wasn't really his bedroom, but it might as well be. He wanted it to be his place as well as hers.


	35. Interviews and Projects

**A/N - Thanks for being patient and waiting for this. It's been a crazy weekend around here. I'm afraid it may not get less busy until I finish up with school for Christmas. There are way too many papers to grade. Anyway, thanks for the great reviews. I hope you are still enjoying the story. Please continue to let me know what you think.**

Disclaimer - Bones belongs to Fox.

Chapter 35

Booth left Brennan's apartment by 7:15 to make his way to the Hoover Building. He had made sure she was set up for the day before he left. Just as the previous day, she didn't stir as he puttered around. She was still on the couch, so he was pretty surprised that she didn't wake. He assumed she must have taken some meds overnight that kept her sleeping.

Booth pulled up at the Hoover. He had to take care of a few things before picking Angela up to go talk with the Harmon family in Manassas. He walked into his office, grabbed a stack of paperwork and headed down to the bullpen to get Nichols started.

He walked over to her cubicle and handed her the stack of file folders that needed work. "There are evidence logs in those that need indexing and little odds and ends that need to be completed." He didn't even greet her, just went straight to business. "You don't mind, right?" He finished.

She looked at the stack and her eyes grew wide. 'I guess this is what I get for trying to solve a case without his squints helping too much. I better smile and do it if I want to get anywhere.' She finished her thought, smiled, and spoke to Booth. "No, I don't mind. I really need to learn how to do those things anyway."

"Good. Angela and I are going to meet with the Harmon's in just a little while. We should be back around lunch. Why don't you meet us at the lab around 1:00 and we can go over the details." Booth didn't wait for her response; he simply turned and walked out.

Booth was satisfied that Nichols would be entertained for the morning and would hopefully understand how things worked with him. He couldn't have her holding things back from the Jeffersonian team. He understood that she wanted credit for solving cases, but it wasn't about credit. It was about justice. 'Bones understands that.' He thought to himself.

He pulled up at the Jeffersonian and walked in. He ran into Cam before he made his way to Angela's office. "Booth, how's Dr. Brennan." Booth was a little shocked. Cam was typically all about the job until she had her answers. Only then would she shoot the breeze with him on a normal day.

"She's doing a lot better. I think she actually feels good now, so she's getting restless and wants to get back to work." He gave Cam a few details about her therapy experiences and then shifted gears to talk about the case. "So, I'm taking Angela to talk to the parents with me. Nichols is working on paperwork. I told her to meet us here around 1:00 to go over details of the case."

Cam nodded. "Sounds good, I'll check with Dr. Brennan and see if she is up to a video link for the meeting today." Cam knew they needed the anthropologist's help and that it would actually make her happy to get the call.

Booth nodded and smiled a little at Cam. "That's fine Cam, but don't call her until after 10:00 or so. She usually wakes up to take some meds and that knocks her out until mid morning unless she has to be at therapy or something. After she gets up, she has to do that therapy thing anyway. It hurts her like crazy; she's not in a great mood until a half hour or so after that. She should be fine a little bit later though."

Cam was a little surprised at Booth's knowledge of her routine. She wasn't jealous. Everyone with half a brain could see that he and Brennan belonged together except for the two that it mattered most to. "Wow, Seeley, you have it bad." Cam said.

Booth gave Cam a curious look and said, "What do you mean Cam?"

"Oh, come on Seeley, I've known you long enough to know that you don't have friendships with women like you have with Brennan. You two are both hiding behind the 'we're just partners and there's a line' crap. Just tell her." Cam was very blunt with the man she had been friends with for over 15 years.

Booth gave her his million dollar smile and said, "Thanks Cam." With that, he headed to Angela's office.

As he walked across the lab and by the platform, his phone rang. He checked the caller id and noticed it was Rebecca. For some reason, his heart always skipped a beat when Rebecca called at odd times. She would usually call him the night before he was to pick up Parker, which would mean he should expect a phone call that night. He didn't know why she would be calling around 8:00 in the morning.

He flipped his phone open, "Hey Rebecca," he said quickly.

"_Seeley, you've got Parker this weekend, and Brent and I are going out of town." _She was speaking very quickly.

"Rebecca, we've talked about this for a while, what's up?" He knew something was up, she was rambling. He might not want to marry her anymore, but he could still read her like a book.

"_Well, Parker just gave me an assignment sheet this morning for a science project that's due on Monday. It's something about building a simple machine that will lift an object weighing a specific amount. You're going to have to help him get it done." _Rebecca had always taken care of helping Parker with the school projects. Booth went to parent teacher conferences and made sure he did his homework when he had him though. He was still active in his education and Parker knew that he and Rebecca both expected him to do well.

"Calm down, I've got it covered." Booth was smiling from ear to ear. It looked like he had his reason to spend time with his two favorite people over the weekend. He knew his Bones wouldn't be able to turn down the chance to teach Parker a little squint talk.

"_Seeley, are you sure?" _She was more nervous about giving up the responsibility than letting Booth help.

"Yes Rebecca, remember, I have an army of scientists at my beck and call. It'll be great." He laughed as he said that. He couldn't remember when he had actually been excited about doing a science project—probably never.

"_Alright, I trust you. I could just ground him for not giving it to me before this morning. He knows how important school is." _She was clearly frustrated with their son. Rebecca was very uptight about grades. She was that way in graduate school and Parker would have to deal with it his entire educational career.

"It'll work out Rebecca. I'll pick him up at 7:30 in the morning. I've got to run do an interview now. Have a good day." Booth waited for her to say goodbye and then flipped his phone shut. He was now standing in the middle of the lab where he had stopped to talk to Rebecca. He started briskly walking again toward the artist's office. As he walked in the door, he flipped his poker chip in the air with a huge grin on his face.

Angela looked up from her computer. "Booth, please tell me that the smile on your face is there because you talked to Bren." Angela didn't beat around the bush when it came to asking questions.

Booth rolled his eyes. "No, but it looks like Parker and I are going to be spending a lot of time with her this weekend. He has a science project due Monday and he hasn't started." His grin grew wider at the thought. "She doesn't know yet though."

Angela knew why he was smiling. "I guess you have an excuse to stick around her for the weekend now. Didn't take you long to come up with something."

Booth just sighed at how well the artist knew him. "Alright Angela, let's go. We've got a family to talk to." He was still smiling, but was working to get his FBI face back on.

Angela grabbed her coat and purse and walked out with the G-Man. As they walked to Booth's illegally parked SUV, she decided to take on the role of Brennan to help Booth deal with her absence. "So, Booth, can I drive?" She grinned as she asked.

He opened the door for her and said, "No, it's my SUV and I always drive." He started to chastise her for her comment, but she interrupted his thought.

"What about a gun?" She was trying to keep from laughing as she saw the look of frustration in his eye.

"What is it with you people and guns? No, you can't have one. I highly doubt you've ever fired one anyway. I personally like all of my appendages and would rather not be shot again." He was clearly frustrated in a non-angry kind of way.

Angela couldn't help herself. She was laughing hysterically as he climbed into the car. "Booth, do you want to guess how many times she has asked you those questions? I am assuming it's more than I would care to count." She looked at the FBI Agent who was now smiling sitting next to her, putting the SUV into drive.

"You have no idea Angela." He thought about all of the times she had asked for a gun. He actually liked messing with Bones about it. She was cute when she was frustrated.

They made their way to the stately Manassas neighborhood that the Harmon's called home. They waited at the door until a petite woman answered. "Mrs. Harmon?" Booth asked.

"Yes, can I help you?" She was looking at Booth and Angela. She could clearly tell that this was no sales call.

"Yes ma'am, I'm Special Agent Booth from the FBI and this is Angela Montenegro with the Jeffersonian Institute. We need to talk with you about your daughter Abigail." Booth was compassionate as he spoke. He was careful not to reveal too much information until they were seated in the house.

Booth and Angela spent about 2 hours at the Harmon home. They softly informed the parents about the remains that had been found and gave them some time for reality to sink in. When they regained their composure, they were able to speak with both parents about their daughter in detail. Abigail's older brother was home, and they spoke a little with him, but apparently, the older sister was away at some type of competitive riding competition.

They weren't able to glean a lot of information from the Harmons. They did learn that Abigail and her sister, Andrea, were both competitive horse back riders. Booth had thought to ask about the pelvic injury that Brennan noted on the x-rays a few days before. She had received it when she and her sister were riding at their usual stables when Abigail was 16. She had missed an entire year of riding, but apparently, it didn't set her back too much. Abigail was a highly decorated rider, more so than her older sister.

Booth and Angela made the 45 minute drive back to Washington DC. Angela had called Cam and found out that they would have a meeting at 1:30 at the lab. She must have gotten in touch with Brennan because she told Angela to be ready to set up the video link.

Booth looked at his watch. It was 11:45; he hadn't eaten in over four hours. That was a long time for him. "Angela, you want to grab lunch and take it by Bones' place? She is probably just sitting there working on her book."

Angela smiled. She really wanted to see her best friend, but also knew that Booth couldn't stand being away from her. "Sure Booth. Chinese food?"

Booth handed her his cell phone and said, "Of course. It's speed dial number 4."

Angela called and placed their order. She was nosey and checked his speed dial numbers in his telephone. Of course, Brennan was number 2 – second only to the preprogrammed 911. Behind her was Rebecca and then came the Chinese restaurant. She laughed at his priorities and if she had to guess, the diner was number 5.

She handed him his phone and said, "They said it would be 10 minutes. You want me to call Bren and let her know?"

"No, we'll surprise her. She hates surprises." Booth's grin reappeared on his face.

Angela just shook her head. "Booth, you are impossible."

They made the rest of the trip to the restaurant and Brennan's place in silence. Booth used his key to open the door. Angela eyed his key ring and shot him a look as he pulled it out. 'He has a key, that's a good step,' she thought.

Booth pushed open the door and said, "Bones, we brought Chinese."

He and Angela both were surprised when they didn't find her sitting on the couch. Booth deposited the food on the counter and they made their way down the hall. Booth became defensive and Angela laughed when they found a very surprised Brennan in her laundry room folding laundry.

"Brennan, only you would be able to figure out how to wash, dry, and fold laundry with one foot." She knew her friend and found her inability to sit still quite amusing.

Booth wasn't amused. "Bones, come on, can't you just sit still for a little while?"

Brennan straightend up and responded. "Hey Ange." She then directed her glare at Booth. "Booth, I've told you before, I'm not putting my foot down on the ground. Don't worry about it, I'll be fine."

Booth was about to argue when the pesky artist interrupted. "That is so hot. You two are amazing." She was smiling as she reached in and gave her friend a huge hug.

He had backed down from his alpha male tendencies and spoke to her calmly. "Bones, we brought lunch. We figured we could eat together before we leave for the conference call with you." He smiled a little at the concept. They had to go to the Jeffersonian to have a video conference with her in just over an hour. It was a little weird.

Brennan turned to exit the laundry room and Booth and Angela followed. They made their way into the kitchen and all went to work. Booth grabbed the food while Brennan pulled out a few plates. She was actually getting quite good at doing things on crutches. Angela grabbed some drinks from the fridge.

Booth and Brennan sat in their regular seats and Angela couldn't help but notice how Booth grabbed the extra chair and pulled it out for Brennan to elevate her leg a little. It was a simple, but lovely act on Booth's part . What amazed her the most was that her friend accepted without a single complaint.

They ate and chatted about things at the lab. Angela told them about an experiment Hodgins had tried that ended badly. He now owed Cam a new suit due to some type of polymer he managed to get all over her. If she had to guess, he didn't care about buying her the suit. Hodgins had a pretty good sense of humor so she was sure the satisfaction he got from the look on Cam's face made it worth while to him. She smiled at the thoughts. She really did miss him.

Booth spoke next. "So Bones, Rebecca called this morning. You know I have Parker this weekend, Right?" He began.

"Yes, Booth, I will be fine by myself. I'm actually getting along quite well and the pain is minimal." She was very clinical. She was working hard to hide her real feelings. Really, she wanted him to stay.

"I know that Bones, but listen. He has some big science project due on Monday and I'm going to need your help." He was guessing and hoping that she would be interested.

It didn't take long for him to realize that he was right, she was interested. "So what is the project about, we could go to the lab and do it. I have a lot more to work with there."

Booth just smiled. He got his wish – time with Bones and Parker. "I'm not exactly sure Bones. It has something to do with simple machines. Rebecca has the assignment sheet. Parker didn't give it to her until today. She was freaking out."

"I'd love to help Booth." She was smiling.

Angela looked on in surprise. It was like they had completely forgotten that she was sitting there. Maybe she was even a little wrong about how deep their connection was. It was a very basic conversation, nothing romantic at all, but yet their eyes sparkled and they gave each other these looks. They were already together. They just didn't know it.

They finished up eating and cleared the table. Brennan made her way back to the couch and opened a bottle of ibuprofen from the end table. Booth shot her a glance as he noticed what she was doing. "Don't worry Booth, I could go ahead and take the Lortab, but I'm going to start alternating with ibuprofen so that I can be ready to work on Monday." She explained so he wouldn't worry.

He smiled. She really seemed to be feeling better. He was happy.

He and Angela left to go back to work. Booth and Brennan were both lost in their thoughts. Booth was thinking about the weekend with Bones and Parker. He was excited to be able to let her spend time with Parker. The little boy loved her and she was great with him. She had high expectations for him and didn't talk down to him, but she was very loving toward him. When they were together, it just felt right.

Brennan's thoughts paralleled Booth's. She was excited about helping Parker with the project. She couldn't wait. She didn't know what it was, but she enjoyed being around the little boy. He was always so eager to learn. He had completely changed the way she looked at children. Through him, she realized that they had minds with great potential. They just needed someone to help them grow. She laughed at her thoughts. 'When did I come to a point in my life that I would rather help a 7 year old do a science project than work on identifying remains?' She was surprised at her own excitement, but didn't regret it. It felt right. When she was with Booth and Parker, it just felt right.


	36. Start of the Weekend

**A/N -- First off, let me apologize for taking SO long to update this one. I have literally been writing this chapter for a week and finally finished. I don't know about you guys, but things have been really busy. I hope you are all still interested in reading even though I have kept you waiting. I'm hoping things are all down hill from here. Just a few more days of school until Christmas Break. Hopefully then, I will be able to write more. Please let me know what you think and feel free to tell me how awful I am for making you wait.**

Disclaimer - Bones is property of Fox.

Chapter 36

Booth and Angela made their way back to the Jeffersonian to go to the update meeting on the current case. So far, they knew very little about how Abigail Harmon ended up murdered. They really didn't know how she died. It would all come together with time and Booth knew that. At that moment, however, Booth realized just how important Brennan was to the entire team and the success of their work. She had been gone for some of her digs from time to time, but they had Zack during that time. He wasn't Bones, but usually could get cause of death or something to get them going. Without Bones, the team was incomplete. He was incomplete.

The SUV was silent and Angela could tell that Booth was thinking. She thought about questioning him, but decided against it. She didn't need to ask to know that he was thinking about Brennan. If she had to guess, she would say that his thoughts were usually about her anyway. 'Should I tell him about the investigative work I've been doing about the possibility of a relationship between the two of them?' She thought to herself. She chose to wait. The time would be right at some point. She just hoped it would be sooner rather than later. In her opinion, Brennan had been alone long enough.

They parked in the parking deck of the lab and walked inside. Angela noticed just how much of a gentleman Booth was. He waited for her at every door and opened each one for her. She thought about how Jack always did the same thing. She was very close to approaching Jack about possibly getting back together, but she realized that she didn't want to hurt him again. She wanted to commit to him, but frankly, the idea scared her to death. She had spent a lot of time on the road with her father as a child and staying in one place for a long time was not something she was used to doing. She had only stayed at the Jeffersonian for Brennan. She knew her friend had been left so many times; she refused to leave her too.

As they approached the platform, they could see that Jack had already set up the video link and was ready to call Brennan. Booth looked around and found Nichols sitting on a stool against the railing of the platform. She didn't speak and Booth was thankful.

Cam started the meeting. "Alright people, before I call Dr. Brennan, I understand that we don't have cause of death and that's okay. Hopefully, Dr. Brennan will be in on Monday and we can go from there. It's an old case and a few days delay isn't going to hurt us. We have not even found any injuries that would give us clues as to cause of death." Cam finished and gave Angela the motion to go ahead and start the call with Brennan.

She answered quickly and Booth smiled. 'She's bored,' he thought to himself.

Cam started. "Dr. Brennan, we're going to do a quick run through of everything we have. I am sure everyone actually read the email I sent out and didn't just mark it as read in your inbox. Booth and Nichols, you start first."

Booth allowed Nichols to speak first. He had sent her a text message with all of the information they gleaned from the Harmon's that morning. "Abigail Nichols, age 21 – she was last seen leaving her house to go to her riding stable to practice for an upcoming competition. According to her family, she dated a guy named John Allen for 3 years before she died. From all accounts, they were still happy together. They had not spoken about marriage, though. She has one older sister and an older brother. The older sister rides horses as well and the brother was away at college during the time she disappeared. Other than that, we don't have much." Nichols finished and Booth began.

"I am going to try to contact the boyfriend this afternoon and bring him in for questioning. At this point, I like him for this. Crimes like these are usually related to romance in some fashion. I don't think it's random. How many murders do you know that hang out around horse stables?" Booth finished. They didn't have much. It could turn out to be a long case.

Cam looked to the team and said, "Hodgins?"

He just nodded and began to speak. "The exoskeleton fragments I could sift out of the soil were congruent with burial at the time of death. The body wasn't moved postmortem. Particulates from the soil were minimal, but I did get a couple of things. First, there was some kind of hydrocarbon residue on the fibers mixed in the dirt around the vic. It's probably something her clothes came into contact with at or around the time of death. I also found a small amount of a pesticide on the fibers. It matches the mass spec of typical equine pest prevention topical agents. It looks as if she did actually make it to the stable to ride that day."

Brennan piped up from her seat on her couch via video conference. "Hodgins, when you covered the bones for particulates, did you notice any signs of trauma or perimortem bleeding?" She knew he was an entomologist, but he had worked with her enough to quickly recognize abnormalities and signs of trauma.

He shook his head. "No, Dr. B., I looked, but there's nothing obvious. The intern came up empty as well and Cam found nothing." He informed the anthropologist. As much as they had grown closer over the years, she still made him feel like an undergrad research student.

Brennan thought for a moment as the team looked at her lost in thought face and then she spoke. "Was there any remaining hair in the soil samples?" She asked.

Cam interjected before Hodgins had a chance to speak. "Are you thinking about long term exposure to chemical agents, Dr. Brennan?"

"Yes, it will probably show nothing, but it's worth a look if there is hair present." She thought for a moment longer. "Booth, could you talk to her family and see if there were any signs of a stubborn illness she couldn't get rid of? Maybe see if you can get a release of her medical records."

Hodgins was waiting for Brennan to pause long enough so that he could answer her original question. He jumped in as soon as she took a breath. "Dr. B., we did have some hair. I can run a few tests. I'll have to do a comparison to make sure that we don't have hair from more than one person, but that was on my to do list anyway. I'll just bump it up and start it sooner." He explained.

"Thanks Hodgins." Brennan said before Cam spoke again.

"Angela?" She addressed the artist who had been quiet up until this point.

"I don't have much. I scanned all of the bones into the Angelator, but without cause of death, I can't really do anything." After Angela finished, the group just nodded. They completely understood.

Cam finished up. "Well, fortunately for me, all of the bone wrapping was gone, so I can't be of much help until we come up with something. When Hodgins isolates the hairs, I can cross reference some of the elements and compounds with the symptoms from her medical file, if there are any." She paused and gave others an opportunity to speak, but no one did. "If there isn't anything else, I think we can all get back to work. Dr. Brennan, have a good weekend and we hope to see you in on Monday." Cam was sincere. She enjoyed working with her and hated to have her missing from her team. As much as she was in charge, Brennan was the center and everyone knew that.

"Thanks Cam. I'll be there after my doctor's appointment on Monday. Hopefully it will be by lunch, maybe even a little before." Brennan wanted to get back to work and Booth just rolled his eyes as she spoke. He loved her determination, but she needed to slow down sometimes.

"We'll see you then, Dr. Brennan." Cam said as she informally dismissed the team from the meeting.

Everyone was slightly surprised at what Booth said next. "Thanks Bones, I'll be by later tonight." He smiled as he spoke. When he looked up, he saw several sets of eyes staring at him.

He thought about telling them to find something else to stare at, but figure it would be futile. He just ignored them and everyone scattered.

"Nichols!" He called her from the other side of the platform. She immediately responded by rushing over to him. "Did you finish all those file?" He went straight to business with the rookie agent.

She shot him a smile that he couldn't quite read. "I did, and I turned them all in to the correct departments for filing. You had already signed them all." Booth nodded in response. He was actually impressed that she had finished everything. She must be pretty efficient, but he would need to ask around and make sure that she didn't enlist the help of some of the other rookies that he sees drooling over her in the bullpen.

"Okay—thanks for taking care of those. Let's head back to the Hoover and see if we can get in touch with this Allen guy. It's almost 3:00 now and I'm not working tonight or this weekend. If we can't get him in this afternoon, we'll just have to do it Monday after Bones' appointments." Booth made his intentions abundantly clear. He hadn't exactly told Bones that he would take her to her appointments, but at this point it was a given. He figured she would beg the doctor for clearance to drive since it was her left ankle and he would probably comply. He'd take care of her for as long as he could and that included driving her around.

Nichols just nodded and agreed. She hadn't given up on her goal of working with Booth long term, but she wasn't sure of what her next move would be. She figured she would lay low for a little while and come up with a plan. For now, she would work hard and comply with his requests.

Nichols and Both drove separately to the Hoover and Nichols walked as Booth's shadow to his office. As he walked in, Charlie handed him a file labeled John Allen. Booth opened the file and walked to sit behind his desk. He had to pause for a second as he sat in his chair. He recalled how he had gotten it. Earlier that fall, Bones had managed to convince human resources to give him the most popular chair in the building, but he hated it. A couple of weeks later, he walked into his office and found a black leather chair with all the bells and whistles a man could ever want behind his desk. It even had a massager. On it, there was simple card that read, _Booth, I can't have a partner with a bad back – Bones._

Over the course of their partnership, it was the most affectionate thing she had ever done for him. He was proud of himself for helping her get to that point. He and Angela had worked hard to show her what it was like to give by giving her Brainy Smurf, a Christmas tree, and Jasper. He was wearing her down.

Booth sat down in his heavenly chair and read the file. "No previous offenses, he is a student at American. He's majoring in criminal justice." Booth read a little farther and then handed the file to Nichols.

"It looks like he took a semester off after Abigail disappeared. I wonder if he was distraught because she went missing or distraught because he killed her." Nichols stated very bluntly.

"I don't want to guess right now. I want to talk to him." Booth was actually impressed by her observations. As much as he disliked her, she would end up being a decent agent if she committed to it. She just needed to get past the possibility of being his partner. That wouldn't happen.

Booth picked up his desk phone and dialed John Allen's cell phone number. He waited for a few moments and finally the victim's former boyfriend answered. "John Allen?" Booth said before he paused. "This is special Agent Seeley Booth of the FBI. I need to speak with you about the disappearance of Abigail Harmon." Booth paused again. "No, actually, I was hoping you could meet us here at the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building in DC." He waited for a response from the young man. "When will you be back in town?" He asked. "Alright, I will need you to be here by 1:00 pm on Monday." Booth waited as Allen must have been speaking. "If you aren't here, we will pick you up and bring you in. I anticipate you complete cooperation." Booth was fairly stern as he spoke. He didn't know what to make of the former boyfriend not being in town to talk to him. He closed his phone and looked at Nichols who gave him a questioning look.

"Looks like he's out of town visiting relatives in New Jersey. He'll be back Sunday night, but I've got him meeting us here on Monday at 1:00. I'm going to hit him pretty hard. Maybe he knows something." Booth explained and Nichols understood. Right now, the love angle was the only possible lead they had on the case.

"What do we need to do for today?" Nichols asked Booth.

"I'm going to get Caroline to give me a warrant for all of Allen's financials. When I get it, I'll get Charlie to have someone pull them. It should be fairly straight forward. He's a college student not the head of a Fortune 500 company. I guess you can go ahead and call it a day. I'll take care of the rest." Booth cut her some slack. For now, it seemed as if she had toned things down a little. If she would keep it that way, he could tolerate working with her.

"You're sure?" She asked.

"Yes, I'm going to meet with Caroline and get some things taken care of and then I'm out of here myself." Booth explained. She nodded in response and left his office.

Booth quickly checked his email and then made the short trip to Caroline's office. He hadn't talked with her in several days and now had a good excuse to pay her a visit since he needed to a warrant to pull the records on Allen.

He walked to her office door and rapped slightly on the open glass doors. She was listening to someone on the phone while drinking coffee at the same time, but somehow managed to wave him in. Booth silently chuckled. He wondered how Caroline could do the work of about 5 hands when she only had two. 'Maybe that is why criminals were so afraid of her,' he thought.

Booth nodded to her wave and sat in one of the chairs facing her desk. He instinctively pulled out his poker chip and started playing with it. He waited silently as Caroline finished listening to the caller. He couldn't really call it a conversation since she didn't speak. After a couple of more minutes, she finally spoke. "Monday," was all she uttered before placing the phone back on the receiver and giving him a smile.

"Darn special agents, they always think that I'll drop whatever I am doing and get warrants for them on a Friday afternoon." She complained and Booth shifted in his seat since that was exactly why he was sitting there. At least it was some of the reason he was sitting there. "Now, to what do I owe the please of seeing you this afternoon?" She asked.

Booth placed a million dollar smile on his face and said, "I need a warrant for financials." He hoped he would not be on the receiving end of a flying stapler with that request. He'd seen the damage staplers could do.

"You know, cher, I wouldn't get one at 4:00 on a Friday for just anyone, but I'll get it for you. What do you need, exactly?" She smiled and Booth released the breath he had been holding.

"The bones found in the field, we found the boyfriend. He's in New Jersey and I'm questioning him on Monday, but I need to get financials and background information pulled before that. He dated her for a long time and is really our only potential right now." Booth explained; he knew it was enough for a warrant.

"I've got the file. I'll get it for you before I leave. Now, how's that scientist partner of yours anyway?" Caroline was clearly going in the direction Booth had hoped.

"She's doing better. She's bored at home and is jumping to get back to work. She goes to the doctor on Monday for a new cast and then she'll probably be on the case. I tell you, Caroline; we are getting no where on this case without her. They can't even find cause of death." Booth conveyed his frustration.

"Well, it's an old case, a few days won't hurt. Just make sure you do a good job with it when you do solve it. I don't want a tangled mess because the genius was missing." She was finished talking about the case. "Now, on to important matters—I searched through all of the FBI handbooks and the only thing I found was this." She dropped a large book in front of Booth. There was a passage highlighted in green. Booth began to read.

_The FBI does not allow coworkers from the same department to be involved in relationships that extend beyond those of typical partnerships. This includes, but is not limited to, dating, marriage, and immediate family members. Partnerships are subjected to this policy._

Booth's face grew long. He was very discouraged by what he read and Caroline noticed. "Don't go getting all depressed on me yet, cher, keep reading." As she spoke, she turned over about 200 pages and opened to another passage highlighted in green. Booth sighed, relieved and kept reading.

_While it is the FBI's policy that coworkers and / or partners do not become involved on a personal level, relationships between FBI employees and contractors are not directly subject to this policy. The FBI does not control contractors beyond the parameters explained in the FBI Contractors' handbook. While the FBI does not apply all employment policies to contractors and their FBI contacts, it is required that any and all relationships between contractors and employees of the FBI are approved by the deputy director in charge of the employee of the FBI. If the relationship is deemed to not interfere with matters of the FBI, it will be permitted with no consequences to the employee. _

Booth looked up to find the glaring eyes of Caroline. He was slightly confused. "So, since she doesn't work for the FBI, I can pursue a relationship with her. Cullen just has to approve of it first?" He asked, more to make sure he had read clearly than because he didn't understand. It couldn't be that simple.

"That's right cher. You have the free and clear. All you got to do is make sure old Sambo agrees and if he gives you any flak, I'll deal with him." Booth just smiled. Cullen and Caroline went way back and she had a good handle on him. Heck, she had a good handle on everyone at the FBI.

Booth looked at the attorney and smiled. He had his answer. He and his Bones could date and still be partners. He was pretty sure that would be her only requirement. Now, he just had to find the right time to tell Bones. He needed to check with Angela and make sure there wasn't anything from the Jeffersonian side prohibiting the relationship. She would probably go crazy, but it would be worth it.

He snapped out of his trance and spoke. "Thanks Caroline, I owe you big time for this one."

"I already told you cher, this one's on me, but bring another warrant request to me on Friday afternoon and I'll be forced to take you out." She smiled as she spoke. She liked Booth, but had to keep him on his toes.

Booth stood to leave. He walked back to his office and locked up a couple of things. He found Charlie and told him that Caroline would be getting the warrant and he would call him to get one of his guys to work on the financials. It might be another hour or so. Charlie was getting ready to leave for the night as well, but informed Booth that there would be two newbies working who would be more than happy to pull the financials when he go the warrant.

Booth thanked Charlie, everything was set. Now, he was in a very good mood, so he called Bones. He might not be ready to tell her his feelings, but he could at least get her out of the house if she felt like it. He was going to make her go eat and to a movie with him. It was going to be a good weekend with Parker, but he need some alone time with his Bones before hurricane Parker hit.

He flipped open his phone and barely gave her the chance to say hello before he spoke. "Hey Bones, have you done your afternoon therapy stuff yet?" He waited as she spoke. "Good, I'm glad that's out of the way. Go change clothes and put on something other than wind suit pants. I'm getting you out of that apartment for the evening." He paused once again to give her the opportunity to protest. "I'm not abducting you Bones. You want to go with me – remember." He hoped she could sense that he was wearing a big grin. It always worked wonders with her. "Good, I'll be there in 45 minutes. I need to get some things from my apartment and get a couple of things ready for when Parker comes tomorrow." He explained before shutting the phone.

He walked to his car and set out for a great evening. He needed to take care of a couple of things before picking her up. His apartment was clean, but he needed to can some stuff from his refrigerator. He hadn't bought groceries in weeks and was sure his milk was spoiled. He had to get it out of there because he and Parker couldn't stay at Bones' place. Rebecca would have a field day with that one. He hurried, took care of what needed to be done, and headed to get his Bones. It was definitely going to be a good weekend.


	37. The Night Out

**AN -- I hope to get another update finished before I go out of town for a couple fo days, but it might not happen. If not, I hope everyone has a great holiday and I will hopefully have more up this weekend. I hope you are all still enjoying the story. I have a few more twists and turns in store for everyone's favorite non couple. Please continue to let me know what you think.**

**Let me clarify on this chapter. I have not seen the movie I have them going to see. I just thought it was funny that it opened on the weekend I needed a movie for and Hart Hanson always compares B/B to Nick and Norah.**

Disclaimer - Bones is property of Fox.

Chapter 37

Booth finished at his apartment. He got a few things ready for Parker to come over for the weekend. Today was Friday and it had been 2 full weeks since he had spent the night there. He didn't miss it at all, but realized that he would have to stay there if he had Parker. He didn't want to confuse the boy.

On his way to pick Bones up, he called the movie theater to see what was playing. It was the first Friday night in October and there was really nothing new out that he wanted to see. He thought that Bones might like the cultural aspects of _Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist_ that opened this weekend. He had seen the previews and it looked like it had some goofy comedy that he would enjoy as well. Besides, he had seen a few of the 1950's movies and thought Nick and Norah were funny. In many ways, they resembled himself and Bones. He thought going to see that movie would be fitting. He checked the show times and found that it would be showing at 8:30 at the theater near the Sushi Beat Restaurant. He and Bones liked the place and they had great sushi. At that point, it was almost 6:00. They would have plenty of time.

He pulled up to her apartment and ran up the stairs. He wasn't sure why he was running, but found himself taking the stairs 3 at a time. He couldn't believe the things that woman did to him.

As Booth was finishing up and making his way to her apartment, Brennan was getting ready. She was a little surprised at his phone call. Sure, they did a lot of things together, but this time she was a little nervous. She couldn't pinpoint why. Maybe the medicine had made her a little edgy – that had to be it.

Brennan had not left her house since she came home from the hospital except for the visit to the therapist she had made the previous day. She was actually glad to be out and feeling a better. Most of her symptoms had gone away. She was still more tired than normal and moving around a lot was still painful but it was much better than it had been. She had managed to get herself to the point where she was only taking the narcotics before she did any therapy and before bed. She expected that she would be able to manage on Monday without the narcotics at all and be able to work. Hopefully her appointment and therapy wouldn't be too bad. She would just have to manage. She was going to go to work Monday regardless of how badly she hurt.

Figuring out what to wear was a struggle. It looked like she would have to break down and go shopping. Realistically, she was going to have to wear some type of cast for the next 3 months, minimum. She was scheduled to get her hard cast off sometime during the first week of November. It would be replaced by some type of boot or something after that. Her screws would come out during the second week of December, hopefully. After that, she might actually be able to put on a pair of regular pants, but that would be questionable. Her 4 pair of boot cut jeans would get her through that many months. She contemplated breaking out her dig clothes that consisted mostly of cargo pants, but she needed to maintain a degree of professionalism that the "eco warrior" look didn't provide. Shopping was her only choice.

She dreaded the next few months. First would be the Jeffersonian Halloween Party. She'd have to go, but she was pretty sure that the Wonder Woman effect would be lost if she showed up on crutches. Maybe Cam would let her out of it, but the Christmas Party would be a non question. Since the Valley Fever incident, it had become much more formal and a requirement for all salaried staff. What she dreaded most was the donor ball the third week of January. It was a completely formal occasion. She was expected to bring a date and mingle with the donors for 2 hours. Her ankle began to throb at the thought of putting on a pair of heels and trying to stand in them. It amazed her at the difference 2 weeks had made on her attitude toward shoes and standing. She almost always wore heals and now never wanted to wear a pair again.

She snapped out of her thoughts and went back to the task at hand, getting ready. She grabbed a shirt and put on some makeup. As she was putting on her necklace, she heard Booth come in her apartment door. She walked to the kitchen, reached into the cabinet and popped a couple of ibuprofen. She didn't even consider trying to hide her actions from Booth. When had she become so comfortable with him that she didn't mind him seeing her take medicine?

He walked beside her and placed his strong hand on the small of her back. "You hurting, Bones?" He asked. "We don't have to go if you aren't up to it yet." He finished.

She rolled her eyes at the alpha male. "I'm fine Booth. It's more for prophylactic purposes than anything else. I'm just trying to stay on a schedule to keep the pain from becoming unbearable and to help the swelling diminish." She provided him with her very blunt answer.

He nodded and took her answer as saying, 'Don't be an alpha male right now. I'm okay.' He could always tell how she was feeling based on her tone. Spicy, scientific tone, like the one she just used, meant she was fine. Short, one word answers along with sighs meant something was wrong. He liked spicy Bones the best.

He was pretty sure that her spiciness was a turn off to some guys, but he loved it. He loved making her defensive so she would rattle off scientific words and explanations. Usually, when she finished, he would just grin at her. The look she would always give him after she finished was priceless. She could never figure out why he was grinning at her. It was a look of confusion, but for some reason, he couldn't get enough of it.

He noticed that she seemed ready as she put her water glass in the sink. "Ready to go?" He asked.

She nodded and clicked toward the closet to get her coat. It had started to get quite crisp in the evenings. The last week had been unseasonably cold with the lows in the upper 20's already. She opened her closet and did her best to put on her coat, but was unable to avoid the observant gaze of Booth as she struggled to get the coat on without falling over or letting her foot touch the floor. "Need some help," he said. She silently griped to herself at needing his help. 'He should have gone into science if he's that observant,' she thought.

She accepted his offer for help and allowed him to grab her elbow. While she didn't quite understand the expression, she mumbled under her breath, "This sucks."

Booth just nodded at her and Brennan got over her little pity party as he grabbed her elbow to allow her to release her crutch long enough so that she could get her jacket on. Once she was finished, they headed out the door. As the elevator doors closed, she asked, "So where are we going, Booth?" Booth had to smile because she seemed excited – almost like a child.

"I'm taking you out for some Japanese so you can get your fill of sushi for the week and then we're going to the movies. It's Friday night and you are my surrogate, remember." His thoughts went back to the conversation with Sweets only a couple of weeks ago. He already knew that Sweets was right. He and Bones were so close, that they didn't need anyone else.

They walked out to his SUV which was conveniently parked in the closest spot to her door. It was an authorized vehicle spot. Booth would never dream of parking there if it was his own comfort that was in question, but he wanted to make things a little easier for his Bones.

As they approached the car, he let her take the lead to see if she would want his help. She looked up to him as she made the last few steps and stopped. He took this as her way of asking for help. He opened the door and took her crutches as she eased her way into the tall SUV. Booth closed her door and put her crutches in the back seat before getting into the car himself.

The drive to the restaurant was made mostly in silence. Booth updated her on the talk with the boyfriend and how he would be coming in on Monday for interrogation. She told him about some of the plans she had for Parker's project and even told him a little about the 2 extra chapters she had finished on her next book. She didn't know why she told him about the book, she just did. It just seemed natural.

They pulled up in front of The Sushi Beat Restaurant just before 7:00. Since solving the murder of Carly Victor, all of their team had frequented the restaurant. Ernie's sushi really was the best around. Most of the time, he would make sure they had a great table and were well taken care of. It was no secret that he was a fan of Brennan's books and was grateful that they had solved Carly's murder. He really did care about her and Booth still felt a little guilty for making him suspect number one for a while during the investigation.

As soon as they parked, Booth hopped out and ran to Brennan's side of the SUV. He grabbed her crutches from the back seat and helped her out. As they entered the restaurant, Ernie quickly spotted them from behind the sushi bar. "Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan, it's good to see you. It's been a couple of weeks. What the heck happened to you Dr. Brennan?" Ernie commented about the crutches as soon as he noticed them.

"Good to see you too, Ernie." Brennan smiled as she spoke. "It's just a little ligament damage to my ankle. I had surgery on Monday." She explained. Booth just shook his head at how she minimized the injury.

"Sounds little," Ernie said sarcastically. "You guys want to sit at the bar or a table tonight?" He asked.

Booth responded quickly. "We'll take a table tonight. We aren't in any big hurry. Bones has been cooped all week and could stand to spend some time at a table out of her house."

"Alright, I'll have the hostess take you back." Ernie said and then motioned for the hostess. "Take them back to table 35 by the fish tanks. Dr. Brennan, take care of that ankle and let me know when you newest is about to come out. I'd love to host a party for you or something." He smiled and shook Booth's hand.

"Thanks Ernie. It shouldn't be too much longer. I have about 9 more chapters to write and then it will go into review phase. It is usually out a few months after that." Brennan liked Ernie; otherwise, she wouldn't have provided that much information.

The hostess came and led them to their table. It was a great table – right beside the huge fish tanks. "Parker would love this." Booth commented as they sat.

Brennan nodded and smiled. "You should bring him sometime." She leaned her crutches against the table and took her seat.

The hostess noticed and grabbed the crutches. She carefully placed them behind the table and against the wall so that they wouldn't fall. "Do you need an extra chair for your cast or something?" She asked.

Booth began to answer but Brennan cut him off. "No thank you. I'll be fine. I'll let you or the waiter know if I get uncomfortable." The hostess just nodded and placed the menus down on the table.

"Enjoy you meal, your waiter will be here shortly." The hostess said as she turned to leave.

"Bones, seriously, I can't bring Parker here. He would turn his nose up at eating sushi. He has seen me eat it and makes a big deal out of it every time I have it." Booth was actually impressed that she had considered Parker highly enough for him to come to such a nice restaurant.

"You know Booth, introducing new foods is all about approach. I would think that if you presented it to Parker in an educational way and explained to him how it is prepared, he would try it. You could probably even start with some of the vegetarian rolls. That way, he would not be able to say anything about raw fish." She knew Parker well enough to know that he loved to learn and would probably try anything for the sake of learning.

As Booth was about to speak, the waiter came to their table. "Good to see you tonight. My name's Terry and I'll be taking care of you. Can I start you out with a good beer or wine this evening?" The young man was very polite.

"I'll just have water this evening, Thanks." Brennan responded and closed the beverage menu. The waiter took the beverage menu and looked to Booth.

Booth was shooting Brennan a confused stare as he said simply, "I'll take an Asahi, thanks."

The waiter nodded and said, "I'll get those right out for you. Let me just say, Dr. Brennan, I love your books. It's a pleasure to take care of both of you tonight. You two are a pair of celebrities around here." Booth and Brennan just nodded as he walked away.

"No wine tonight, Bones?" Booth asked.

Again, she went into clinical mode. "I have a lot of pain killers and anti inflammatory drugs in my system right now. I would rather not risk an interaction with the drugs. If I never have to see an emergency room again, it will be too soon for me." She explained.

"Ah, I understand. Good use of a slang phrase by the way, Bones." Booth grinned as he commented about her use of the 'too soon' phrase.

"Thank you, now back to Parker. If you want, we could bring him here sometime this weekend or something. I'm sure Ernie could come up with something for him. It could be fun." She smiled just thinking about it. She was sure the Booth was raising a fine young man in Parker, but she could help with the cultural and scientific aspects of things.

"Thanks Bones, that sounds good. He really likes you." Booth said as the waiter brought back their drinks.

The rest of the meal consisted of casual conversation as they ate. Brennan actually told Booth a few stories from her childhood and Booth shared a little as well. He talked a lot about Parker and told Brennan about the upcoming youth hockey league that Parker would be playing in and that he would be helping coach. He also talked about his law enforcement hockey league that was schedule to begin practices next weekend. She promised to come watch him and Parker play.

As they finished up their meal, Ernie came back by to check on them. "How are things?" he asked.

Booth responded. "Great, we just need the check and we'll be going."

"Come on G-man, your money isn't any good in this place. Well, not as long as I'm not the prime suspect in a murder investigation, anyway." Booth just smiled and thanked him. He asked about the possibility of bringing Parker on Sunday and Ernie seemed excited assuring Booth that he could whip up something that would be kid approved. "Where are you guys headed now?" Ernie asked.

"We're going to the movies." Brennan offered all the information she knew.

Ernie shot a doubtful look to Booth. "Not much out this weekend, hope you find something worth seeing." He said.

Booth elaborated on his plans. "I know, but that musical _Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist_ opened last night, I figured we'd give that one a shot." He explained.

Ernie laughed out loud at the movie choice. "Well, that's appropriate for you guys if it's anything like _The Thin Man_ or the old Nick and Norah movies."

They both wished Ernie a good night and they were ready to go. Booth helped Brennan get back on her crutches and placed his hand back on the small of her back as they left the restaurant. He headed toward the SUV and Brennan stopped as he began to turn. "Booth, if we are going to the theater a few blocks away, I'll be fine to walk."

He immediately became protective. "Bones, it's freezing out here and it's a pretty good walk."

"Booth, I appreciate the thought, but I'll be fine." She reasoned. "Anyway, I need to get some exercise."

He gave in, but wanted to protest a little anyway. "Fine, but I am not carrying you back to the SUV when it's over and do not blame me if you get frost bite on you exposed toes." He looked down to her left foot. He couldn't believe how cute he thought she looked with her 5 toes poking out of that flesh colored cast thing. He had it bad and he knew it.

She nodded and began to walk. It really wasn't that far to the theater. They managed to get there in just a few minutes. Their conversation was very date like. They talked about college days and other simple things, but they both shared, and both enjoyed it.

As they neared the theater, Brennan was getting tired. She would never admit it, but she wished she had let Booth have his way and drive.

Booth could tell she had slowed a little bit and was probably becoming uncomfortable. "Bones, are you sure those crutches are adjusted right? They look a little low to me. You should probably get Jameson to check them on Monday. I really don't want you to ruin your back trying to give your ankle a chance to heal." He explained.

"You're probably right, but I'm not sure there is much that can be done to make them comfortable. It is just something I'll have to deal with." She said very matter of factly.

They walked up to the ticket counter and Booth bought two tickets for the movie. "Bones, let's find seats and I'll come back out and get some popcorn and drinks." She just nodded as he held the glass door open for her.

"Booth, you can't seriously be hungry, we just ate." She questioned as they found some seats.

"Oh, come on Bones, you can't go to the movies without popcorn dripping in butter. Do you want anything to go with it?" He asked.

"Water will be great, thanks." She said as she sat down and lowered her crutches to the ground.

As she waited for him to return, she worked to get comfortable. She was hurting a little, and internally cursed herself for walking that far. She was pretty sure she would pay for it in the area of swelling, but it would all be okay in the end. She could handle it.

Booth returned about 5 minutes before the movie started and handed her the water. She thanked him and lowered the cup holder to put the water in. They sat in silence until the lights went down and the movie started. During the first half hour of the movie, Brennan often tapped him on the shoulder to say "What does that mean" to almost every pop culture phrase they used. Every time, Booth just smiled and explained. After that, Booth noticed her squirming to get comfortable. He placed his hand on her leg and got her attention.

"I'll be right back," he said as he stood and walked out of the theater for a brief moment.

When he returned, he was holding a booster seat thing that Brennan had often seen in theaters, but never really knew what they were for.

"Hey Bones, I'm going to put this in the seat beside you. It will keep it down without someone sitting in it. Parker used to need one when we came to the movies. I'll raise my cup holder bar up and you can turn sideways a little and elevate your ankle in the seat next to you." He explained his plan to her.

Without complaint, she did as suggested and once she was settled, she was much more comfortable. Booth snaked his arm around her and gave her a little squeeze. "Better?" he asked.

"Much - thanks." She answered and returned her attention to the movie.

As the movie finished, they stood to leave. "Bones, do you want to stay here while I run get the car?" He didn't want her to hurt more just because she was trying to avoid making him right.

"No, I'll be fine. It's not that far." He nodded at her answer. He didn't want to push her.

"So, what'd you think of the movie." He asked.

"It was entertaining, but I really don't see the connection to the old Nick and Norah's or to _The Thin Man._ The only commonalities were the name and the fact that the couple found themselves in an unplanned situation that they had to work out." She explained. "I personally like the old Nick and Norah's better." She finished.

Booth smiled, "Me too, Bones, me too." He was a little surprised that they had the same opinion of the movie. "Hey Bones," he said, "Did you like moonlighting?"

She looked at him, a little confused at why that came up. "I've never seen it, but have heard that there was lots of sexual tension between the two lead characters."

He just shook his head, "Bones, you've never seen Moonlighting!" He was stunned. "I wish I would have known. I would have rented it for you to watch while you were cooped up." He thought for a moment. "Next time it snows a lot or you sick or something and we can't get out, I'll get it for you to watch."

She looked at him with her questioning look. "Booth, if it snows a lot, you won't be able to get to my apartment to bring it to me." She said before she added a little of her own spice to the conversation. "And remember Booth, I don't get sick."

"Bones, I have my ways and remember everything happens eventually." He said and the conversation was over.

She managed to make it all the way back to the SUV but was pretty sure she would be sore the next day. She'd just have to get over that, though. She would be okay and would make sure that Parker's project was great.

She waited at the SUV and he helped her in and put her crutches in the back. On the way to the apartment, she drifted in and out of sleep. As they pulled onto her block, Booth decided to wake her. "Hey Bones, what time is your therapy appointment n the morning?"

She rubbed her eyes a little before answering him. "7:30, I am planning on doing all of my appointments then or earlier to get them in before work."

He just laughed. "Leave it to you, Bones, to have an appointment at the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning." He said as he pulled into the authorized vehicle parking spot and jumped out to help her. "I'll drop you off at therapy and then run pick up Parker. I'm getting him around 7:30 and Rebecca's is really close to your therapy gym. It won't take me long to get him and then we'll pick you back up and we can go get breakfast." He seemed to already have it all planned out. "Will that work?"

She seemed to be going on autopilot, but still managed to answer him. "That's fine Booth, thanks."

They made their way upstairs and she went immediately to her room to change. She was tired, achy, and cold. She wanted nothing more than to crawl into her comfy bed.

Booth realized how tired she was and went ahead and got out all of her medicine and her cooling thing for her ankle. When she didn't come out of her bedroom in her typical 12 minutes, (yes, he had counted before) he went back there. He found her in her pajamas on top of her covers fast asleep. He couldn't help but smile at the sight. She was probably as beautiful as he had ever seen her before. She had on a light blue spaghetti strap shirt with matching polka dot, Bermuda length shorts – Angela must have bought the set for her. She had removed all of her makeup and had her hair in a very simple pony tail. He enjoyed looking at her for a couple of minutes, but then woke her.

"Hey Bones, you need to get some ice on your ankle and take these meds." He had to shake her a couple of times before she even stirred. 'Man, I didn't realize how much one night out would take out of her,' he thought as he shook her.

She finally woke long enough to make eye contact and sit up. "Thanks Booth," she said as she dry swallowed the pills. "I got it," she said as he started hooking up the cooling unit. He nodded and let her show her independence. She pulled the covers back, crawled in, put a pillow under her ankle, and fell back onto her pillows. Booth threw the covers over her and turned to walk out.

Just as he reached the threshold of her door and was about to turn out the light, he heard her small, tired voice. "Booth?" she called.

"Yeah, Bones, you need something?" He stopped and turned to face her.

"No, but thanks for tonight. I had a lot of fun." She said and never opened her eyes.

He smiled even though he was pretty sure she was already asleep again. "You're welcome Bones, I had fun too." He said as he flipped her light switch and walked out the door.

He looked at the clock and saw that it was 11:15. It was still pretty early for him, but he opted to go ahead and go to bed. He was content. He had spent a great evening with his best friend. He only hoped there would be many more to come and that soon she would be more than his best friend. He already knew he loved her, but the timing had to be perfect to tell her that.


	38. Good Morning

**A/N - I am so sorry for making you wait this long. I hope I still have a few readers remaining. **

**Honestly, I have been a little stumped as far as which way to go. I have an overall story line, but the in betweens and timings have started to catch up with me a little. Plus, it's been very busy lately with lesson planning and a new puppy that Santa brought. I have to share -- her name is Bones. It's actually Poly (meaning many) Bones. **

**Anyway, enough about me. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It's short and I am working on what should belong in this chapter, but wanted to get something up for you and get this thing rolling again. Please let me know what you think or at least that you are still interested in reading.**

Disclaimer - I don't own Bones or any of the characters.

Chapter 38

Brennan had managed to set her alarm clock before collapsing onto her bed after her night out with Booth. She woke when the obnoxious electronic gadget went off. It filled her room with happy music that she was pretty sure no one wanted to hear at 5:30 on a Saturday morning but it was better than the blarring buzz that was her other option. 'I need to get an alarm I can hook my IPOD to,' she thought. 'That way, I can wake up with the Tibetian Throat Singers.'

She was surprised when she went to move and found her ankle in the cooling unit once again. 'Booth,' she thought. She didn't recall him coming into her bedroom after she collapsed. He must have come in because she had left the unit in the living room the night before after she used the electrotherapy machine.

When she rolled over and out of her warm, comfortable position under her covers, she moaned, audibly. The morning greeted her with the after effect of the previous night – an achy body. For a few minutes, she thought about rolling back over and sleeping until her back and arms no longer ached, but she chose otherwise. She was stronger than a few muscle aches that resulted from the overuse of certain muscle groups. Besides, she would have to start using the muscles eventually and she might as well push through the pain way, hopefully Monday would be easier for her when she finally got back to work.

She got out of the bed, grabbed her crutches and made her way into her bathroom. She turned on the faucet as hot as she could get it and awkwardly climbed into the tub. Learning to bathe with a huge cast on her foot was tricky, but he had figured it out. She was, however, thankful for the spray head that she had on her tub that she could remove and use. She was also thankful for a bath tub that had a large, flat rim. It made climbing in and out without putting any weight on her foot much easier.

She silently wondered if she would be able to put any weight on it if she tried. Her curiosity as to the state of her ankle was trying to get the best of her, but she opted not to try. Part of her was aware of the potention of making the pins shift. The other, non rational, part of her knew it would hurt like hell if she tried.

She spent a few minutes reveling in the warmth of the water and the relief it brought to her aching muscles. She finished up, got dressed and ready, and made her way into the kitchen to find an already ready Booth. "What time do you get up anyway?" She asked. She was surprised that he was such a morning person. He always managed to wake before her in the morning even when they were out of town.

"Oh, I was up before 5:00 and went for a short run. It doesn't take me long to get ready. You know, guys don't require that much maintenance like you women." He smiled as he talked.

She laughed and took a seat beside him on the stool at the counter. "Oh, really. Is that why you have the extra large container of hair gel in my spare bathroom?" She was clearly trying to start something. "You actually use the same brand as Angela."

The million dollar smile fell off his face. He was stunned that she had noticed his hair care products. He didn't want to give her any more ammunition, so he quickly changed the subject. "You want some coffee?" He asked.

"Please, and could you hand me that bottle of Advil out of the cabinet?" She said.

He nodded and gave her the bottle and a bottle of water he pulled out of the fridge. She downed a few pills just in time for him to slide a steaming hot cup of coffee in front of her.

Booth didn't comment on the medicine, but needed to get an update on how she was feeling. "So, how's the leg? Feeling better?" He could come up with more questions, but figured those two would work for now.

She thought for a second and managed to develop a good answer. "I'm sure it's healing satisfactorily. I really can't attest to the improvements I'm seeing until I have the cast removed to check the range of motion. The swelling is still persistent, but based on what Jameson and Marc have said, I will have issues with swelling for a few months. I'm not concerned about that."

Booth smiled at her attempted evasion of the question. He met her eyes and said, "Still hurts like hell, doesn't it?"

She lowered the coffee cup she had raised very close to her mouth. She gave him a very puzzled expression and thought to herself, 'one of these days I'll figure out what it is that I do to help him read all my thoughts.' She took a deep breath, sighed, and gave him a simple, single nod.

He nodded back at her and briefly considered telling her that he could just bring her home after therapy and breakfast, but knew that she would never do that. She was committed and wanted to help with Parker's project. He did, however, have a possible option for her.

"You know, Bones, I could go get all of the stuff and bring it here. We could work on Parker's project here and you could rest better and be more comfortable." He gave her a grin and hoped she might accept the offer.

She half rolled her eyes and answered quickly. "No, Booth, I'll be fine and I have so much to work with at the lab that it would be irrational to try to do the project here. I had planned on us working in Zack's old ookey room. I also thought that once we finish the project, I might take Parker over to the museum proper and get some of the people from the giant squid exhibit to take him behind the scenes for a little while. He can't do that at my apartment." She looked at the clock and saw that it was 7:05. She had to be at therapy in less than 30 minutes, so she began to work on putting her coat on.

Booth was almost speechless. Had his Bones actually made plans for the day with Parker? He knew she was great to him and it touched his heart to think that she wanted to have a great day planned for him. "Bones," he said. "I'm sure he would love that more than anything." His smile grew wider and wider by the second.

"I thought he might like it." Brennan said in response to Booth's excitement. "I also called Naomi in Paleontology. You remember her right?" She was gathering up a couple of things to get ready to leave.

Booth rolled his eyes. "How could I forget the other half of the cow with udders the size of my car?" The thought made Booth laugh and want to cry at the same time. He hated how Zack had chosen the wrong path. He knew he could have done something to stop him. He always told Brennan that there was no way they (any of them) could have stopped it, but if he had stopped him from going to Iraq the first time, none of this would have come to be. He had failed to protect his Bones from another betrayal. He could never forgive himself for that.

"Anyway," said Brennan. "I called her and she said they had some new _Edmontonia _fossils to arrive this week and she's working to go through them and catalog them all. She'll be there all day today and she said Parker could watch. They also have some soil samples that they've already sifted through but they left some of the smaller, less rare fossils in the soil. She said Parker could use all of their equipment to go through them and find some fossils to take home."

By the end of her explanation, she had gathered all of her belongings and was working to get her messenger bag over her shoulder. Booth quickly grabbed her bag and gave her a big smile as they headed out the front door. He held the door for her and then picked up the army green duffle sitting by the door. It obviously contained all of the belongings he had accumulated at her apartment since he had been staying there.

Brennan allowed her eyes to focus on the bag and the realization hit her. She would be alone in her apartment again tonight. She would be fine, physically, but she didn't want him to leave. Rationally, she knew he had to leave sometime, but she wasn't ready for that to happen.

They made their way, in silence, to the SUV and quickly drove to the physical therapy office / gym. "Bones, it's a couple of minutes early, but will that be okay? I don't want to make Rebecca mad by making her late or something." Booth spoke as he was pulling up under the covered drive at the entrance to the building.

Brennan felt compassion for Booth as he spoke. She knew he walked on eggshells with Rebecca about Parker. She always wondered why he didn't go through the court system and get legal custody rights, but she figured that he didn't want to do that. He wanted everyone to be happy, including the mother of his child. She finally answered his question as he was grabbing her crutches out of the back seat of the SUV. "Sure, Booth, that will be fine. If Marc is there already, we can probably go ahead and start. It's only 10 minutes early anyway."

Booth grinned. "Thanks, Bones. Parker and I will be back to get you shortly and we'll go get some breakfast. Parker will probably be ready to eat his own hand by then. That boy has a stomach the size of a sumo wrestler."

Brennan laughed audibly at the comment. "I wonder where he got that one from, Booth?"

Booth shot her a very crooked smile at the statement. "Oh, come on Bones. We Booth boys just appreciate great cooking."

She laughed again and walked passed him to go into the building. As she did, she used the back side of her hand to pop him in the stomach. "Good thing you work out. All that pie would make that abdomen of yours quite pliable otherwise. I'd say you are adequately pairing your caloric intake with your exercise regimen thus resulting in a lean, well proportioned body."

She didn't look back and made her way into the building. Booth was forced to pick his mouth up from the concrete drive. 'I think Bones just told me I was hot in squitonics. . . and she didn't even take a narcotic this morning.' He shook his head to clear his thoughts, checked his watch and jumped back into the car to go pick up Parker. He had already decided that it was going to be a great day.


	39. Favorite People

**A/N - Let me just say, I am completely amazed that all of you are enjoying the story enough to send the great reviews. I received more for last chapter than I have received for any other chapter. Thank you so much. **

**This chapter is another point A to point B chapter. I start writing and can't stop the thought lines from rolling so things drag out a little longer than I initially intend, but they usually seem to turn out okay. I hope you still enjoy this one. I promise that the next chapter will be project building and some good B/B and Brennan / Parker interaction. I might even throw in a visit from a couple of the characters we haven't seen in a bit. As always, let me know what you think, and thanks for reading.**

Disclaimer - Bones is property of Fox and thank goodness they are airing a new episode on Thursday.

Chapter 39

Booth pulled up at Rebecca's house three minutes early. He was really excited to have Parker for the entire weekend. Usually he only got him on Sundays unless Rebecca needed to go somewhere. He was glad that she and Brent decided to go to some bed and breakfast in Pennsylvania for the weekend. He also looked forward to the first week in November because he got him for the entire week while Rebecca went to Los Angeles for some big conference. He had never had Parker for a full week during the school year before.

Before Booth even rang the door bell, Parker came bounding down the stairs. He threw open the door and jumped into his father's arms. "Daddy!" He yelled.

"Hey Parks! How was school this week?" Booth asked as he was ruffling his son's hair and kissed his head over and over again.

"It was good. We've been talking about machines. They are so cool. I am so ready to do my project with you and Bones. Is she feeling better yet?"

Booth was touched that his son was thoughtful enough to ask how Bones was doing. "She's feeling better bud, but she still hurts a lot. She doesn't act like it though, so listen. I want you to be really careful around her. Make sure you don't jump on her or accidentally bump into her. If you were to hit her leg, it would hurt her a lot. Can you do that for me?"

Parker nodded. "I'll be really careful like when I'm at grandma's house. When I'm there, I have to be careful there so that I don't break all those porcelain ducks and stuff she has." He spoke with a confused look on his face. He didn't understand why she would want all of that breakable stuff. He knew his dad wouldn't like those things either.

Booth had to stifle a laugh at his son's honesty so that Rebecca wouldn't notice. He looked up and saw Rebecca glaring at her son and he was thankful he wasn't on the receiving end of the stare.

"Parker, get your bag." Rebecca instructed. "Seeley, you have my cell number. The sheet he's supposed to go by for the project is in his backpack. I'll just plan on picking him up on Monday from school if that's okay." Rebecca was at least using a kind tone.

"Sounds good. We'll be fine, but I'll let you know if we have any trouble." Booth gave her a simple hug. "Let me know if you need us."

"Thanks and tell Dr. Brennan thanks for me too." She said as she followed the two Booth gentlemen out the door.

Booth gave her a nod and grabbed the bags out of his son's hands. The pair walked out to the SUV with Parker telling a story about some worm he found on the playground.

While Booth was picking up Parker, Brennan was going through what she deemed as her regularly scheduled torture appointment. She knew when she woke up that it wouldn't be a pleasurable appointment and she was correct.

As she had hoped, Marc was already there and was able to get started with her 10 minutes early. "Where's your shadow this morning?" He asked as he helped her onto the exam table.

Brennan winced as she was forced to move around a lot to get on the table, but managed to answer him fairly quickly. "He's picking up his son. We're going to go up to the lab to help him with a project for school."

Marc nodded, pushed her pants leg up, and then started massaging the muscles just above her cast causing her to pull away from him. "Sorry," he said. "It looks like your swelling has gotten a little worse since Thursday. Have you been hurting more?"

She gave him a nod. "Last night was pretty rough. I didn't sleep well after a couple of hours of decent sleep. It wasn't bad enough to really wake me up and get out of bed. I took a full dose of Advil this morning, but my ankle's been throbbing and my shin and calf are starting to cramp." She hated complaining, but Booth wasn't there to hear and she felt like she needed to be honest with the medical professionals who were working with her.

He gave her a compassionate nod. "Have you gone back to work? Swelling's a pain and almost always increases the more you're up and about." He was still working on massaging her leg while he talked. She had her eyes closed against the discomfort.

"No, but I've been trying to do a little bit more. I was out and about for a few hours last night. I'll be at the lab all day today. I have only been taking the Lortab at night." She explained. "I can't take it and be at work, so I've been weaning myself from it."

He nodded. "I understand, but you have to watch it. Your muscles in both of your legs are really tense today and that's not good for healing or for your right knee and ankle. Use a stool if you work. If the pain gets to be too much, elevate and take the prescription pain meds. Next week's therapy is a little more intensive and you may have some rough days anyway."

They continued through the routine of small exercises and the electrical currents. Brennan was exhausted by the end of the 30 minute session. She was sitting on the table with her head back when Marc finished up with a few questions about her arms and back. She explained that she was pretty achy, but the overall pain level, ankle included, was something she could manage. She was, after all, Temperance Brennan. She didn't stop because of minor inconveniences. She'd already stayed home for a week and that was enough to last her the rest of her life.

Marc just nodded at her resolve and informed her that he would get her some ice and she could stay for a few minutes if she needed to regain her composure. She was appreciative and tried to relax for a few minutes as the ice he gave her brought the aches down to a dull pain.

A few brief minutes later, there was a knock at the door. She didn't even have to open her eyes to know who it was. She knew the knock – 3 gentle raps on the door frame always meant Booth.

He poked his head in. "Hey, you finished?" He asked.

She nodded and shifted up on the table. He gave her a simple smile of understanding. He could see the discomfort in her eyes. He grabbed her bag and offered his arm so that she could get to standing. "Where's Parker?" She asked once she was stable on her crutches.

Booth smiled. "He's sitting in the lobby waiting. I didn't want to bring him back in case you were still working." He held the door for her as she exited.

Rounding the corner, she bumped into Marc. "Temperance, go ahead and come on Monday at the same time. I'll take the soft cast off myself and work with you for a while to check range of motion. Jameson will take the x-rays and hard cast you there." He explained. "You are probably going to want to take some heavy medicine that morning though and bring your old ankle brace with you to use between here and the hospital."

She nodded at the instructions and they headed out to the lobby.

Booth was impressed that his son was sitting perfectly still in the chair. He had left him sitting there just a few minutes before. He was watching the lobby television that was set to cartoons. The receptionist must have changed it for him.

Parker looked up as he heard Booth and Brennan rounding the corner from the long hallway. "Hey Bones," Parker almost shouted as he jumped up. He began to charge toward her but managed to pull back when he remembered his father's words of warning just minutes before.

Booth gave his son a nod at the compliance to his request. He didn't expect to see Brennan wave Parker forward and attempt to bend a little bit to hug the small child.

Parker gave her a hug and was a gentle as he could be. Brennan realized he must be a little nervous and saw that his eyes kept cutting toward the cast she was holding just above the floor. She knew the boy needed a little reassurance right now, so she bent down and did just that.

"Hey Parker," she whispered in the child's ear so that his golden curls moved from the air she exhaled.

He looked up at her with an unsure voice and she said a few more words. "I know that cast looks big, but you can't hurt me. You don't have to worry about it. I really appreciate you letting me work on your project." She did her best to get him to think of something besides her. "I used to love doing science projects when I was an elementary school student. One time, my dad helped me build a wind tunnel. I won the science fair with that one." She explained.

"Cool!" Exclaimed Parker. "Maybe you could help me with my science fair project in the spring." His mind had clearly been set at ease by that point. He used his hand to motion her to lower her head so he could whisper something in her ear.

She did as requested and the little Booth began. "You know, Bones, my dad said he used to hate science when he was in school, but he says he missed out on a lot. He says that you are the bestest in the world when it comes to science and that I should listen to you because science really is cool."

She gave Parker a sweet grin and then the pair looked up to find a very tall man with a set of chocolate eyes gazing at him. "I don't like the two of you making plans without me." He said. "I especially don't like it when my stomach is growling for a stack of chocolate chip pancakes from the diner." That statement alone was enough to entrap Parker's Booth tendencies.

"Yippee, chocolate chip pancakes. Mom never lets me get the chocolate ones. One time she even tried to feed me the whole wheat ones." He explained. "Bones, did you know that they make flour that's brown. I thought flour was supposed to be white and cookies don't taste the same when they're made from it. I'd rather eat a rice cake than those cookies."

Booth laughed out loud at the statement and shot Brennan a 'that's my boy' look to which she responded with an eye roll. She was making a mental note that she shouldn't use the wheat flour when she cooks for Parker and Booth in a few weeks.

The trio loaded up into the SUV. Booth opened the door for Brennan and handed Parker her crutches to hold while he helped her into the car. He noticed she was moving a little slower than she had been, but knew that the session with Marc was probably rough. He thought about offering her some more help or something, but knew she wanted to get on with her life. She certainly didn't want to be babied.

He helped Parker into his booster seat in the back seat and then placed Brennan's crutches in the back. He then hopped into the car and they were off to the diner.

Saturday mornings at the diner weren't an odd thing for any of the trio. In fact, they were on a first name basis with the entire wait staff. The diner had a different set of weekend employees and it took Brennan and Booth a little longer to get to know them. Now, though, they knew what drinks to bring them and made sure they always got their favorite table with a view of the street.

What Brennan and Booth didn't know was that all of the female employees had a small bet going about their 'just partners' status. They had all placed bets on how long it would take them to realize their feelings. The pool was currently up to $385, not a shabby amount for a small, DC area diner.

Their favorite Saturday staff member, Shelly, noticed their entrance immediately and grabbed some silverware for them. "Morning guys. I guess you want your regular table?" She asked before it even registered that Brennan was hobbling in on crutches. "Dr. Brennan, what happened? I knew y'all weren't in for 2 weeks but just figured you were working hard or something." She gave Brennan a compassionate smile.

"Oh, thanks. . . Shelly. I just sprained my ankle a couple of weeks ago. It's not really a big deal. I'll be right as rain soon." She tried her best to remember the correct slang phrase and was pleased when Booth gave her a slight smile indicating she didn't mess up.

Shelly nodded and decided to push a little to get an update for the betting pool. "Well, I hate that for you. You look like you've had better days, but at least you've got Seeley here to take care of you." She said as she led them to their table and waited as they sat.

Booth turned slightly red and Brennan quickly responded. "Yes, Booth has been great to me through all of this. I feel lucky to have such a great partner."

"Uh huh. You guys want the regular drinks?" She asked and received a nod from the dynamic duo. "What'll it be for you today, Parker?"

He thought for a second and Booth noticed a very squinty look on his face as he seemed to stare into the air with his thoughts in his eyes. "I'll take strawberry milk, please. I'm having chocolate pancakes and don't want to have everything chocolate." He explained.

Shelly nodded walked away as Brennan peered at Parker. "You know Parker that was a very logical decision you made. You must have really thought about it." She said.

"Yep, I like to think about things before I make decisions. My dad does that sometimes, but other times he makes decisions really fast. Even when he's fast, he still makes good decisions." Parker answered.

"Yes Parker, your dad does make good decisions. He also is good at thinking quickly when he needs to. He's very good at a lot of things." She said. She was a little surprised at her very caring words, but hoped Booth would understand just how much she appreciated him.

Booth was a little antsy at all of the praise he was suddenly receiving so he decided to steer the conversation into another direction. "You two know what I'm not good at?" He asked and received blank stares from the pair. "Waiting on breakfast when there are perfectly good pancakes in the building." He finished and waved for Shelly to come back and take their order.

Shelly came and took their orders and their food was ready very quickly. Breakfast was filled with talk of the upcoming hockey season, plans for the day, and Brennan was even able to tell a couple of stories of herself as a little girl. Booth didn't do a lot of talking. He just sat back and enjoyed listening to his two favorite people talk.

They finished eating and left the diner for the Jeffersonian. In the car, Brennan took out Parker's assignment sheet and read it. "You know Booth, whoever Parker's teacher is seems to be extremely gifted in education. This project is scientifically challenging and enjoyable for students. I don't think I could have done this in first grade. You should be pleased with the education he is receiving." She explained to Booth.

Booth didn't respond, but Brennan knew her words would be an encouragement to Booth. He only wanted the best for Parker. She sat back and closed her eyes for a minute. She couldn't remember a time when she had been more content. She was excited about working on the project with the Booth boys and knew it was going to be a great day.


	40. The Task at Hand

**A/N - Sorry for the long wait again. I had a few issues with my jump drive and lost some lines that I had to go back and fill in. I wanted to get all of the Saturday together in one chapter but once I started writing, I realized that is not going to happen. I hope you like this chapter. It's not very intense. Let me know what you think.**

**I have to mention how impressed I was with the 2 episodes aired this week. I was lucky enough to watch Panhandle early and loved it, but Fire was my favorite. Brennan was so girlish and fun watching Booth play hockey. It was great. It gave me some ideas to use when this story takes Brennan to watch Booth play.**

**As always, let me know what you think about the story. Thanks for all the great reviews so far. I'm hoping I make it to 400 with this chapter.  
**

Chapter 40

"Lever, pulley, wheel and axel, screw, and inclined plane," Parker said in response to Brennan asking him to list the various types of simple machines. She was about to tell him good job when he interrupted her. "Bones, I don't know why they have to call it an inclined plane. If you ask me, they should have just said **ramp**. It's much easier to say."

"You're right Parker. It is just a ramp." She did her absolute best to stifle the laugh that wanted to exit her mouth. 'He is so much like his father.' Her mind went back to the many times Booth had told her to use the common word such as jar or arm instead of long, scientific words.

Brennan had a few things spread out across the table in the work room. Booth had excused himself a couple of minutes earlier to take a phone call. She assumed it was in regards to the case. She wanted to work with Parker for a little while on the principles of simple machines and then she had every intention of letting the father and son pair work on building the object to be lifted so that she could go to the platform and take a look at the bones of Abigail Harmon.

When Booth returned, he was pushing a rolling stool. "Hey Bones, look what I found." He said as he rolled the stool up behind her and gave it a little push to push her back slightly so that she was situated on the stool.

"Booth, I'm not incapacitated. I can handle standing." She explained. She was clearly a little frustrated at his alpha male display.

Booth gave her a big grin. "I know that Bones, but Cam had these stools ordered especially for you. There's one on the platform and one in here. They're taller than the other ones. At least this way, you can work at the work tables and not have to lean on your crutches." He reasoned with her and another idea clicked in his mind. "Plus, Bones, if you have to lean on crutches, your arms won't be completely free. This is for the best." He smiled again.

She didn't respond to his reasoning. She just rolled her eyes, huffed a little bit and handed him her crutches. She quickly went back to the project at hand. At least now, she knew who he was on the phone with. Cam must have called him to tell him where to find the stools.

"Daddy, look. We're going to build this." Parker said as he pointed to the dry erase board. Obviously, Parker had drawn a model what he wanted to build. "My teacher gave me one motor to use, but Bones says that she has some more so I'm going to put two on there." He was beaming with excitement.

Booth looked at the fairly complicated drawing. "Parker, are you sure you can build this?" He asked.

"Sure dad. It's pretty simple. We're going to build a car, hook it to a pulley. I'm going to loop the string back to a motor that has a switch. I'm going to tie a string to the switch and connect it to a screw. The screw will turn by another motor that is connected to another switch. I'll push a wheel and axel down a **ramp **to flip the switch to start that motor. What do you think?" He asked his dumbfounded father.

"What grade are you in Parker?" He was looking at the dry erase board in awe. He couldn't believe how much his son had learned in the short time since school started. He knew his son was bright, but didn't expect to see him designing complicated things like that.

"Daddy, I'm still just in the first grade, but my teacher, Miss Crowe is really cool and she teaches us all kinds of stuff." He said.

Brennan had to chime in. "Booth, it appears that he has a brilliant teacher. I would guess that he is receiving a fine education. If the principal at his school always selects teachers such as her, Parker will receive as good of an education as anyone in a private school." She explained. "He seems to be very good at math too." She followed up.

Booth swelled with pride. "Thanks Bones just don't go turning my son into a squint, alright." He had to add a little attitude. He was proud that his son could be a squint if he chose to be but didn't want to let on about that. His Bones didn't need anymore reasons to aggravate him.

Brennan worked for a few minutes pulling things out of drawers to get ready for Parker to work on her project. She was careful to make sure to question Parker the entire time and work hard to make sure she wasn't doing the project for him. She smiled slightly as she remembered the times her dad had worked with her to complete science fair projects and projects for school. He was always careful to make sure that she did the work. He had instilled many very useful values into her personality, and for that, she was thankful.

She saddened slightly as she thought back to the last school year her parents were with her. She was in the 10th grade. She had just turned 15 in October, but had been promoted early since she was reading at a 3rd grade level before she even entered kindergarten. She had already planned out her project. She was going to do a survey of 500 people of different races, statures, and ages and determine if there was a correlation between the level of activity, age, race, and stature. It was a fairly simple idea now that she was thinking about it in retrospect, but then she knew very little about anthropology, but bones and variations fascinated her.

In order to do her project, she had wanted a small graphing type calculator to use for her project. It was a very expensive item at the time and so she had asked for it for Christmas. She had received no indication that she would be receiving this from her parents. When her parents disappeared, she opted not to enter the science fair. She eventually had to transfer schools after she had her appendix out anyway. She wouldn't have been able to enter even if she wanted to.

She recalled her emotions when she finally discovered that her parents did get her the calculator. She had opened the gift after the Valley Fever incident at the lab in 2005. She didn't know what had possessed her to open the gift, but a feeling of relief had rushed over her when she opened it. She had always wondered if her parents had thought that she could be successful despite all of her weaknesses socially. She wondered if she had been a disappointment to them and maybe that had encouraged them to leave. She viewed their gift of the calculator as a vote of confidence. They believed in her.

She had never tried to turn on the calculator to see if it worked. It didn't matter. What mattered was the love that it symbolized. Now, the calculator stayed in her desk drawer along with the only other two items that held a similar symbolic value as the calculator, none other than Brainy and Jasper. She wasn't a sentimental person, but if she were to ever lose those items, she would be a mess. She treasured them and what they represented to her.

She had been deep in thought the whole time she was gathering items for the project. Booth must have noticed the change in her demeanor because in a few minutes, he walked over from his post on the side of the table and placed his hand in the small of her back. "Bones, you okay?" He had a look of genuine concern on his face.

She cracked a small smile at his ever present awareness of her thoughts, feelings, and pain. "I'm good Booth, really good." She was telling the truth. She was proud of herself for coming this far. 5 years ago, she would have been so uncomfortable around a 6 year old that she would barely be able to talk. Booth had helped her to learn how to communicate with people of all ages and for that, she was thankful.

"Okay, Parker, let's start by building the object you are going to pick up. It needs to weigh 1000 grams or 1 kilogram." She began but Parker jumped in.

"When you convert from grams to kilograms, all you have to do is move the decimal 3 places." She looked at him, stunned.

"Very good Parker. Did you know that most people never learn that?" She said. She knew that Booth probably didn't know that, but wasn't saying that to make him feel bad, she was using it as a sign of encouragement. The root of concerns Booth had about Parker were academic. He wanted all avenues open for him and obviously, they were.

"You know Bones, converting in the metric system is easy. I like it better because you don't have to remember a bunch of numbers like we do with pounds and cups and stuff." She smiled and gave Parker a nod of approval and looked to Booth who was swelling with pride.

Brennan refocused on the task at hand. "Anyway, Parker, here is some plastic sheeting. I thought we could cut your object out of this and you can use some special paint to decorate it. We can make it 3D if you want." She explained.

"Cool, Bones. Can I make it look like an old car? My dad has an old car in storage that he's been working on for a long time. He said he hasn't really worked on it in 3 years though." Parker bubbled with excitement.

Booth was a little embarrassed that Parker had said that about him not working on it in 3 years. He was pretty sure she would pick up on the fact that he hadn't really worked on it since the birth of their partnership. She might not be in tune with emotions, but she certainly was observant and definitely not stupid.

"We can do that Parker and maybe your dad can work on his car soon." She said. "Why don't you go ahead and draw a pattern for one side of your car on this paper and we can cut it out to trace onto the plastic."

The little boy grabbed the piece of paper and jumped into the chair at the desk across the room. He worked diligently at drawing the perfect car while Brennan grabbed a few things. She had to admit, the stool was actually very helpful. It was the perfect height and she was able to reach most everything without a problem.

Parker continued to work on his car drawing. Brennan and Booth both laughed as he crumpled up a few pieces of paper to start over. After a few minutes, he finally finished up and jumped out of his chair with excitement. When he did, his chair slid backwards bumping into an unsuspecting forensic anthropologist. Brennan who was working on checking the weights of a few washers instinctively put her foot onto the ground to keep from falling off of the stool. As she did, she cursed silently for not controlling her actions. A searing pain traveled up her leg.

Booth, who had been looking at a file on the other side of the room, tried not to overreact and startle Parker, but he was filled with concern as he saw her clinch her jaw, close her eyes, and grab the table to get her balance.

Realizing what he had done, Parker came right over beside her and placed his hand on hers. "I'm really sorry, Bones." He said as hung his head.

She blew a long breath out, and did her best to force her mind to not respond to the pain. She managed to give him a little smile and a reassuring nod.

Booth knew her look and spoke so she wouldn't have to. "Parks, she's okay. It's just like when you shut your finger in the door that time, right." He tried to explain to his son. "It hurt when you first did it, and it took you a few seconds to calm down. Just give her a minute. Go ahead and start cutting out your car."

Parker nodded and gently grabbed the chair and went back to the desk he had previously occupied. As soon as Booth saw that he was situated, he went over to his Bones to do his own assessment. He opted not to put his hand on her back. Instead, he looped his hand around her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. His own actions didn't surprise him, but her lack of resistance did. She allowed him to hug her and even put her head against his sternum for a few minutes.

As she allowed her head to rest, she found the scents of his laundry detergent and cologne calming. She gathered her physical control of her body and raised her head up to see a set of big chocolate eyes. He gave her a smile before speaking. "You okay Bones?" He asked compassionately.

She just nodded and turned to situate herself back on the stool. "Parker," she said. Booth could tell her voice and breathing were still a little labored with pain, but she was pushing through it. She was his Bones and that's what she always did. At her voice, Parker gave her his attention before she went on. "Bring the car over here and we'll use this scalpel to cut it out of this light weight plastic." She gave him a smile. She didn't want to say anything about the little bump. There was no need. She might as well get used to being jostled and bumped. In some weird scientific way, she was a little thankful for the bump. She at least knew now that she wasn't ready to try and put any weight on the ankle. The irrational side of her thought she might never let it touch the ground again.

Parker came over to the table with his little car pattern and Brennan pulled over a thin sheet of plastic. "Parker, I'm going to let you and your dad cut this out. You need two of these – one for each side." She explained. "I'll let your dad go ahead and help you figure out how to do the top and the bottom." She then pulled out a little s hook. "We'll attach this to the front and let you paint the pieces. After that's all done, we can weigh it and see how many of these little washers we need to put inside." She finished up.

She pointed out all of the supplies to Booth and Parker and then directed her attention to her partner. "Booth, will you be okay for a few minutes, I'm going to go out to the bone room and look at the victim's bones for a little bit." She looked at her watch and saw that it was only 9:30. She figured the work of building the car would take the Booth boys about 45 minutes. That would give her a few minutes to work.

"Bones don't get lost in your bones, alright." He smiled at her. "I am clueless on what to do after we get this ready." He explained.

"Don't worry, Booth. I'm just going to do a little bit of work and then I'll come right back." She assured him. "I'll be in the bone room if you need me."

"Thanks Bones." He said and then Parker chimed in with a little thanks as well.

She nodded to the men and exited the room. She made a brief trip to her office to get some Advil out of her purse and then went into the kitchen to get some ice. Her ankle was still throbbing. She was thankful that he bones were in the bone room and not on the platform. She had emailed the intern of the week the day before and requested that he set up the bones in there for her. The bone room was her escape. She always worked in there when she wanted to be alone or if she didn't feel well. The table was much lower than on the platform and there was a bathroom attached to the room. It was her little hiding place.

She felt a little awkward carrying her purse and an ice pack while using her crutches. Opening the door would probably be even more awkward. She laughed at the thought of anyone watching her try to accomplish the small tasks, but she managed. She grabbed two rolling chairs, plopped down into one, and lifted her leg into the other. She put her ice pack on, took a dose of medicine, and went to work.

She began by examining every bone by hand first and as she suspected, the intern, Hodgins, and Cam were correct. There were no obvious signs of trauma. She pulled one of her microscopes over and began to look at each bone. This process would take a while, but she at least got started.

She worked for about 30 minutes and then Angela came in. The artist stood in the doorway and watched her best friend for a couple of seconds before she announced her presence. Angela admired her friend's desire for truth in all situations. It was unique to Brennan. She was pretty sure that no one else on earth was like her. "Hey Bren, what's my disabled best friend up to today? I thought you were helping Parker with his project."

Brennan whipped around to speak to her friend. She winced a little bit as she used her hands to ease her leg off of the chair it was propped in. She ignored her own wince and smiled at her friend. "I am. The boys are just in the Ookey Room working on building a little car. I thought I would take look at the bones and get a jump on Monday." She explained.

Angela nodded and giggled. "Bren, sweetie, I don't think you are going to be jumping anything for a while, but I'm glad you feel like working. Are you sure you're going to be able to come in Monday anyway?"

Brennan didn't like the thought of that. "Ange, I'll be here Monday after I finish with my appointments. I'm not really going to make staying home any longer an option. I haven't missed this much work ever. You do realize I've missed 7 full days all together." She was almost pitiful talking about it. She really didn't like not being able to work.

"Sweetie," she said as she grabbed the extra chair and rolled next to her friend pulling her into a hug. "It's okay to be hurt or sick every once and a while. You just have to quit thinking about it so much. If I were you, I'd invest some of those brain cells of yours into thinking about that wonderful hunk of a partner you have." She smiled and released her from the hug. "How are things going on that front anyway? I hope there have been some developments. I need details."

Brennan rolled her eyes and sighed. "Ange, he is very kind and has helped me so much. He spent last night, but he's going back to his apartment tonight. He shouldn't have to worry about waiting on me all the time. I can manage on my own now anyway. He has Parker tomorrow. They're spending the day together."

As Brennan spoke, Angela could tell she was slightly depressed that Booth was leaving. She would never admit it. "So, what are you plans for tonight or tomorrow? If you aren't going to talk to Booth and hook up with him, we could always see what kind of guys you could attract at a club or something. I'm sure there are lots of great guys who would love to talk to an beautiful, injured woman and gorgeous her friend. We could go to this new club downtown called Bellbottoms. They have great music. You know you like that rap stuff." Angela pleaded with her friend. Honestly, she was lonely and didn't want to spend the weekend alone. She also knew that Brennan didn't need to spend the weekend alone either.

"I don't know Ange." Brennan started to explain but was interrupted by the artist.

"Bren, don't tell me you are working. It's a weekend and you haven't worked the last two weekends and still survived." She gave her friend a kind of nasty tone.

Brennan placed her hand on her friends. "It's not that Angela. I'm just not sure I want to go out tomorrow. My leg hurts and these crutches are awful. They make my arms hurt." She explained. "Honestly, I don't want to leave my couch. I need to work on my book too. I've written a lot lately, but I still at least 9 more chapters to go. I have to have them in by Thanksgiving. My publicist wants to have them on shelves as soon after the new year as possible." She hoped that would work and keep her out of some club with her best friend.

Angela shook her head at her friend always wanting to work. "Alright, fine Bren. I'll give you a pass on the club this weekend, but only because you played the 'I'm still hurting' card on me. You never complain so I'm going to assume if you did, it's bad enough. As soon as you are off those crutches, though, we're there." Angela spoke resolutely. "The only way you'll get out of it is if I get details of how you actually use your FBI Knight for inspiration in writing one of your famous Kathy and Andy love scenes." Angela started grinning. "Seriously though, Bren, you've got to talk to him sometime."

Brennan sighed. "I know Ange, but I don't want to rush it. I'm not even sure that he's interested in pursuing a relationship with me."

Angela stood up and grabbed her cell phone. "That's it. I'm calling Sweets and scheduling a psych evaluation on you. Something in your brain is not connected." She started laughing even as she spoke.

"Ange, you are absolutely impossible, but I'm glad I have you." She put all of the bones back in the place on the table. "Hand me my crutches, I've got to go check and see what the guys are up to before they blow up the lab."

Angela did as requested and the pair walked out of the bone room and toward the Ookey Room. As they walked, Angela devised some new plans for the next day. "Alright Sweetie, since we aren't going to a club this weekend, I'll come over to your place tomorrow. I'm thinking lots of junk food, pedicures, and manicures. Since your toes are going to be sticking out of a cast, you might as well take advantage of that and make them look hot. Plus Bren, you need to do some online shopping. If my count is correct, you only have 3 pair of boot cut jeans and there is no way I'm letting you pull out your dig clothes. A cast is no excuse not to look hot."

Brennan laughed, she knew that was coming. She nodded to her friend who put her arm around her and gave her a gentle squeeze.


	41. Red and Blue

**A/N -- Okay, sorry yet again for the longer than I wanted delay. I just bought a new laptop and had to get everything situated on it before I could really focus on writing. I hope to be a little more regular now.**

**I hope you are all still enjoying the story and it's not boring you. I really appreciate all of the great reviews. On a positive note, first review for this chapter will be 400 for me. I'm really excited and glad that the story is appealing to you so far. Please continue to let me know what you think and how you think it's going. I'm always open to suggestions.**

**Have a great evening. Thursday is our big Bones day. I've been waiting on this episode for 2 years. I have very high hopes!!!!!!  
**

Chapter 41

Angela and Brennan found the Booth boys completely engrossed in their work in the Ookey Room. The artist and the anthropologist paused before crossing the threshold and disturbing the pair.

Booth and Parker were both wearing huge smiles. They were obviously involved in a moment of true father and son happiness.

Finally, Angela broke the silence. "Hey hot stuff," she said with at sweet smile.

Both boys popped their heads up and the elder spoke. "Hey Angela."

She interrupted him before he went any farther. "Good to see you Booth, but I was actually talking to Parker." She said laughingly. "Come here little man." She requested.

The younger Booth didn't hesitate to honor her request and jumped off of his spot on Brennan's tall stool and leapt into the artist's arms providing her with guy hug.

Brennan looked on with amusement. 'Guy hugs must be genetic.' She thought to herself.

Booth spoke again once Angela put Parker back on his feet. "So, Angela, what brings you to the lab on a Saturday? The case reconstruction is done and I figured that since you are fairly normal, you would be doing less squinty things on a Saturday morning." He was picking on her to a certain extent, but it was actually a valid question.

"Well, yeah, normally I would be, but I have lots of other things to work on that have to do with my primary job and not detective work." She explained. "I have all kinds of reconstructions to do of the items in the Egyptian storage closet. I'm supposed to work up a scale model of Cleopatra's palace for an interactive exhibit the museum will roll out sometime next year." She went on and her expression changed to a smirk. "I've been trying to get it together since last year, but every time I go down there, I get distracted for some reason." She sighed.

Brennan, who was looking at the newly built car with Parker whipped her head around and smiled in amusement at her best friend's words. She had listened to her friends stories but was pretty sure that Booth was clueless as to what she was talking about. She only hoped that he wouldn't take the bait.

'Crap,' she thought as she saw that he really didn't have a clue, took the bait and nodded at Angela.

Booth gave Angela the nod Brennan noticed indicating that he thought he understood what she meant. "I can imagine that the boredom would be pretty distracting down there. It's all just a bunch of dusty junk anyway." He thought that would be the end of the conversation. That's what he gets for thinking.

Angela laughed very loudly. "Boredom is the least of my worries and distractions when I'm down there, Booth." She said, prompting Brennan to give the pair a little more of her attention. Angela continued by saying, "the biggest distraction is how steamy that room gets. There's not a lot of ventilation down there, you know." She smiled and noticed the color on Booth's face changing very quickly. "It doesn't take very long for it to . . ."

Brennan completely interrupted her. "Angela!" She spoke loudly, sternly.

By that point, Booth understood completely but wished he didn't. "God, Angela. Parker's not even 7 yet. Don't corrupt his innocent mind."

Angela laughed. She had accomplished what she set out to do. Booth was completely embarrassed. 'Brennan was right,' she thought. 'G-man really doesn't like to talk about sex.' After she finished her thought, she looked to Brennan. "Sweetie, I'll see you tomorrow. Make sure you warm up your internet connection because we're going to need the speed to order you a complete wardrobe." She began to leave the room but doubled back to mention one more thing. "I'll bring the Cherry Garcia. Absolutely no tofu or granola allowed." She gave her friend a hug and exited the room.

Booth smiled at the exchange before him. He waited for Angela to be out of earshot before he commented. "Cherry Garcia, huh?" He had never figured that out about her. Milkshakes he knew, but ice cream had never come up.

Brennan laughed at the new fact her FBI man had just learned about her. "I only eat it on occasion but cherry ice cream was my favorite as a small child. If I'm ever in a bad mood, it helps. I haven't had it in about 6 months though." She explained.

It really was her only comfort food. Angela brought it to her on several occasions. She recalled those times. She had brought it when she had her last run in with Michael Stires and when she broke up with Peter. Since those times, Booth had mostly replaced Angela in the area of comfort. He was there with Chinese food and his presence which usually made her feel better even without the ice cream.

She did recall the most recent time that Angela had brought ice cream. It was about 12 hours after they had been told that Booth had died. Angela had tried to be there for her on the actual night, but Brennan didn't allow it. She wanted to be alone. She came back to her apartment and threw up more times than she could count. At some point, the exhaustion took over and she fell asleep in her floor. She didn't wake until Angela came the next day. She brought the ice cream, and Brennan tried to eat it, but for the first time in her life, the ice cream gave her no comfort. There was a hole there she thought could never be filled. Thank goodness it had all been a sham. She didn't know if she would ever get over the loss of Booth.

At that very moment, Booth almost lost his breakfast at Brennan's words. The last time she had the ice cream was 6 months ago. It had to be around his death. He would never forgive himself for doing that to her.

He would never forgive himself, but he could make it right. Making it right would have to mean that he would never leave her again. He became slightly nervous at her mention of only eating it when she was in a bad mood. He decided to make sure she was okay right now, so he prodded. "Bones, you aren't in a bad mood now are you? If you don't want to hang out with us today, I'll understand. I mean, I'm sure we could figure this out on our own now anyway. I want you to stay, but you don't have to." He was stumbling over his own words.

She smiled at his nervous energy. "Booth, there's no where I would rather be today. Angela just wanted to bring the ice cream so we could have some girl time." She reassured him.

Booth let out a sigh of relief. At least she wasn't tired of him. "So, you two are shopping tomorrow."

Brennan chuckled a little at his ever present observation skills. "Yes, she says I can't survive on what I have and that I need to choose clothes that minimize the appearance of the cast. There is no way I'm going to a store. She's impossible to shop with anyway. I always end up buying things I never saw. She's like a kid in a candle store."

Parker and Booth both laughed at her new misuse of yet another slang phrase. "It's kid in a candy store Bones – candy store."

"Oh, well, that certainly makes more sense than a candle store." She was fairly dry in her response to him.

He gave her a charm smile. "Well, if it's of any help to you, Bones, I think you look good in blue and red." He wasn't sure why he allowed himself to say that, but didn't stop. "Red looks good with your hair color and skin and blue. . ." That was where he stopped himself. He had gone too far from his normal self anyway.

That was enough to make her completely stop working with the little pieces of their contraption and look at him with her amazing eyes. "What, Booth?" She asked. "You can't give me part of a statement and not finish." She knew he could do exactly that and had done so many times.

He paused for a moment, trying to plan his cover, but couldn't figure anything out fast enough. He'd already dug his own grave, so he might as well jump into it. "It's not a big deal, Bones. It's just that blue things make your eyes all sparkly. It's nice." He made the statement and directed his attention to the paint brush he had been working with. He couldn't believe he had let those words escape his lips.

She just nodded. Honestly, she was stunned. She had noticed in the past that his eyes seemed to grow wider when she wore certain things, but never thought he would have given it enough consideration to pick favorite colors on her.

She thought for a moment about how he dressed. She loved it when he wore grey t-shirts. They always did something to his look that made it hard for her to take her eyes off of him. He looked nice in anything, but he wore suits all the time. Seeing him in a t-shirt with his muscular forearms exposed was definitely a nice sight.

Booth sensed the awkwardness filling the room and decided to divert her attention. "Hey Bones, check this out. We put a spoiler on it."

She gave him a smile. She actually thought it was cute that he was so excited about a science project.

Parker, who had been entranced in painting a lightning bolt on the side of his car through the entire exchange, finally piped in. "Do you like it Bones?" He asked.

She began to glow at the Booth boys' excitement. "I do Parker. It's great.

Over the next hour, the trio worked to finish the project. They worked in unison, laughing at each other and with each other. If a person didn't know the true dynamic of the relationship, they might think they were a family as defined by a marriage license and birth certificate. In actuality, they were a family, but they couldn't be defined by paper. Their family ties were much stronger than paper. They were connected on a spiritual, emotional level. They were connected by things that would never rot away like paper would.

When they finished, they all 3 wore small, peaceful smiles. Parker was very pleased with the way his contraption turned out. Booth was pleased to be in the presence of his 2 favorite people, and Brennan was please to be wanted, comfortable, and needed all at the same time. It was a complete feeling that she didn't often experience.

By 1:00, they were finished, and were working to clean up the Ookey Room when Parker spoke again. He was still wearing a big smile, proud of his work. "Hey Bones, in a couple of weeks, I have parent night at my school. We all get to show off our simple machines. The teacher is even going to pick one of us to explain our project to everybody who comes." He was bouncing as he spoke. "Do you think you could come?" He gave her a set of pleading eyes.

She didn't have to think about it for long. "I'd love to come Parker. Just have your dad let me know when it will be and I'll be there." Normally, she was timid to give definitive answers about going places in case she had an important case or was called out of town. This time, though, she really didn't even consider those things as options. She would be there for Parker and for Booth. Besides, she wasn't planning on traveling with a huge cast still on her leg.

Parker beamed at her answer and thought he might push a little harder. "Hey, could you come watch me play hockey sometime too? This year, I'm actually going to get to skate fast since I learned how to stop over the summer. Dad's been teaching me a slap shot too; you've got to see it."

Brennan was flummoxed for a second. Slap shot? Surely Booth wasn't teaching his 6 year old son to fire a gun and why would he bring that up during a conversation about hockey. She gave him her common answer, "I don't know what that means, but I'd love to come watch you play." She said.

Booth began to laugh. "Bones, it's a move in hockey where you slap the stick so hard onto the ice that it bends. The bending and motion that follows pushes the puck forward, hopefully into the goal. Right now, Parker's way too little for it to work, but it's never too early to teach him the motion."

She grinned and thought that his explanation sounded better than a 6 year old handling fire arms. "Oh, I'll need to read up on it a little on it before I go, I suppose."

Booth just laughed. "Come on Bones, you don't have to be an expert about everything. You can just come and enjoy the game."

She returned his smile and looked to Parker. "Hey Parker?" She waited until he gave her his attention. When she saw his beautiful eves focused on him, she spoke again. "I was thinking that since we are done here, we could grab some lunch in the museum restaurant and then go over and take a look at the giant squid exhibit." She decided to try and be a little silly. "But I don't know, you might think that the squids are way too scary for you."

Parker was definitely a Booth. "Nah Bones, I won't get scared. Nothing scares me." He looked to his father. "Dad, can we go? I really want to." He thought he would have to convince his father.

"Sure Parks. Bones already mentioned it to me anyway. Make sure you tell her thank you." He gave his son a stern set of eyes. "She went to a lot of trouble to make this day special for you."

Brennan smiled at Booth. He really was doing an excellent job of instilling good values into his son. He was truly a man of honor.

With that thought, Brennan led the trio out of the Ookey Room toward the main portion of the museum. Their day was just beginning.


	42. What's Bones?

**A/N -- Again this was a longer break than I intended. Sometimes I get stuck and can't get any further. I'm not sure what I think about this chapter, so let me know what you think. If it's awful, I'll redo and repost. I'm trying to get them together slowly as I would imagine it would happen on the show. ****Also, if you see typos, let me know. I need to proof this again but wanted to get it up. **

**As always, thanks for the great reviews. The last couple of chapters have been down just a little though, so make me feel good and tell me what you think. I appreciate all the kind words!** **I hope you all enjoyed the episode last week. I can't wait for more.  
**

Chapter 42

In a lot of ways, Booth would have considered the remainder of their afternoon as magical. He wasn't sure what his Bones would think. She probably looked at it from a more educational perspective and would consider it enlightening for Parker. He didn't know if she would view it as a wonderful time in their relationship or not.

Once leaving the lab, they went to the museum restaurant for highly overpriced, greasy food. Parker loved it. Brennan was thankful that they did have salads and fruit readily available for the more health conscious like herself.

After eating their fill and Parker indulging in ice cream, they made their way to the marine section of the museum proper. Booth was surprised that they had to sign in and get through security just to see some kind of sea creatures. If someone wanted to steal one of those, they must be really bored or really weird. Even though there was security everywhere, Booth noted that the most secured portion of the museum was the forensics platform—Brennan's domain. He found it quite symbolic that her mind and her things were the most secure. That would mean that in a lot of ways, she and her team were the most valued of the entire Jeffersonian. He also contemplated how she chose a fitting profession. She was a very secured person. She built walls to protect herself just as her work area was protected from intruders.

They met up with one of Brennan's squinty friends. He was probably close to their age, but was clearly lacking in the social and style areas. Booth thought about Brennan for a minute. She might be socially inept sometimes, but at least she had a great sense of style. At one point, he thought her clunky necklaces were obnoxious. Now, he got mental pictures of himself ripping one of them off of her while the made love. They were big and sometimes flashy, but they were Bones, and he loved Bones.

Parker loved learning about the squid. He saw lots of pictures, some old specimens, and even got to touch a few of the squid they had in tanks there. He wouldn't have wanted to leave if Brennan hadn't coerced him with dinosaurs.

As much as he hated to admit it, Naomi from paleontology was a fairly normal squint. He had only seen her a couple of times around Zack. Now he wished he had given Zack the love advice when he asked for it. Maybe Naomi would have been a positive influence on the awkward kid and then maybe things would have turned out differently. He told himself he needed to stop beating himself up over things, but that's just how he was – probably how he always would be.

Naomi showed Parker several really big bones as Booth and Brennan looked on. Booth balanced his time between looking at Parker and studying Bones. After they had been in Naomi's area for about 30 minutes, Booth began to get a little nervous at Brennan's mannerisms. He was trained to read people and reading her was what he did best.

When they first got there, Naomi offered to get her a chair or something. Of course, Brennan graciously declined and told her she would be fine. She even scolded Booth for fussing over her when she was clearly fine. Now, though, he was pretty sure she wished she had accepted the chair. She was attempting to lean a little heavier on her crutches, but when she did that it aggravating her aching arms, shoulders, and back so that wouldn't work.

Booth checked his watch and it was now close to 4:00. She had been going nonstop since very early. She had already seemed tired when they left her house from their night before.

He ignored her motions for a couple of minutes, but when he heard her give an exasperated sigh, he couldn't wait any longer. He was, after all, a man of action. He slid next to her, put his arm around her waist, and gave her a little squeeze. He was very careful to be gentle. He was surprised that her body allowed itself to transfer her weight to him immediately and almost melt at the support he provided. "Hey," he said in a very comforting tone as he felt the tension her body was giving off.

Brennan was thankful when she felt his strong arm engulf her. In the words of Booth, she 'felt like crap.' She'd done too much and every inch of her body ached. She had tried not to let on, but, as usual, Booth figured it out. She wouldn't let him kick her out though. This was Parker's day and she would say through all of it. She could fill her tub with ice or something tomorrow if it came to it.

She allowed herself to linger and revel in his hug for a few seconds. He pulled back a little so that he could look her in the eyes. "Hey, you okay Bones?" He asked.

She stalled for a moment before answering, but finally said "I'm fine." She knew he could see through her, but at least that would her way to tell him that she wouldn't give up.

Booth released her a little; just enough to look her in the eyes. "What I'm getting from your mouth, Bones, is that you're fine, but your eyes are telling me something else." He waited for a response, but she managed to turn her eyes back to Parker and Naomi who were still working. He decided to keep going. "Okay, Bones, I get it. I'm not going to tell you to go home or anything, but tell me what I can do to help you. "

She weighed her options silently and figured that the best way to get him to focus on Parker was to comply a little with his alpha male requests. "I'm fine Booth, but if you feel like you need to do something, you could go to my office and get my purse. There's a bottle of Advil in there. "She looked at him for a moment longer. "Also, there are some bottled waters in the break room refrigerator. Could you grab one of those? There are a few sodas in there too if you want one or if Parker wants one." She thought making that offer would make her sound a little more coherent and capable.

"Sure Bones, anything else—ice, a chair, some - ." He was yammering trying to help her but she cut him off.

"Booth!" She said sternly. "I'm fine; just get my purse, please."

Booth knew when to stop, so he did. He gave her a nod and walked briskly to her office to grab her purse. As he approached her desk, he became a little nervous. Bones' desk was kind of like sacred place. He knew it contained some records of things she had gone through over the years. The Guzman file was in there and he had caught a glimpse of a folder labeled 1991 – 1996. He assumed that it contained documents from her time in foster care, but he didn't dare ask. He knew that if he wanted it, he could get it through the FBI, but he couldn't do that to her. Those were her stories to tell not his to discover. He hoped that one day she would open up to him.

As he opened the bottom, left hand drawer that contained her purse, a new thought hit him. He constantly wanted her to open up to him. He had never really told her what he went through as a child. He knew she viewed him a strong and those things would weaken his image in her mind. He sighed; he knew that he need to tell her eventually, but the time had to be right. Maybe he would tell her those things when he finally decided to tell her his true feelings. He'd eventually get brave. He laughed at the thought. 'I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth. I catch serial killers, I've sniped men who commit genocide. I held a gang leader at gun point, but one beautiful forensic scientist turns me into a little kitten.'

He gathered his thoughts, grabbed her purse, and was careful to wrap the strap around her purse and place it under his arm. The lab was pretty empty, but he still had an image to maintain with the security guards and he had to keep the lab techs scared. He walked quickly, grabbed a bottled water for her and went back to paleontology. He hated that she was hurting, but loved that she was so committed to Parker-to him. She showed him where her allegiance lay.

As he reentered the room, he stood for a moment. She had pulled a chair up beside Parker and was looking at some dirt with him. Parker was grinning from ear to ear and she had a very sweet smile on her face. Her brow was still furrowed in pain, but her expression was wonderful. He wasn't sure that he had ever seen her look so content.

He walked over and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder so he wouldn't startle her. He made sure she saw the purse and saw her shift to stand. He gave her a simple, supportive arm. She spoke first. "Booth, why don't you sit here by Parker? He's digging some small fossils out of that topsoil." He could tell she was taking an out so that she could take some medicine and maybe even collect herself for a few minutes. He was careful to not stare at her and focus his attention on Parker instead.

Brennan was thankful Booth had brought her the purse. She pulled out the bottle, took the maximum amount that Jameson had specified and finished with a large gulp of water. She found a chair in the corner of the room and quietly sat down. She worked on focusing her thoughts on things other than pain and willed her breathing to stay even long enough for the medicine to dull the pain a little. In a lot of ways, she was thankful her first experience with pain from overexertion came on a day when she wasn't required to think about a case. She was also thankful she had looked at the remains for the case early. She wouldn't be able to focus on it now.

She glanced at her watch. It was almost 4:00. She began to plan their evening. She pulled out her cell phone and sent Ernie a text message. She requested a reservation for 6:00. That was much earlier than they normally ate, but knew that Booth needed to get Parker into bed around 9:00. Frankly, she wouldn't mind being in bed by that time too. She laughed at the thought. She had slept more in the last 2 weeks than she had slept in the last 2 months. 'Stupid ligaments,' she griped internally. 'I've always said that I didn't like soft tissue.'

Parker worked for another hour with Naomi. Brennan began to feel the medicine to take effect in about 30 minutes and had rolled her chair to Parker's other side. It was an amazing site. Brennan, Parker, and Booth were sitting as a family in a line. If only the 3 in the line realized what anyone with eyes could see. They were a family that belonged together.

When they finished up, Naomi gave Parker a box to load all of his fossils in and Parker thanked her over and over again. Booth gave her a hug of thanks and Brennan thanked her as well. Brennan and Naomi then spoke briefly about some old remains or something that Brennan would need to consult on sometime over the next few weeks. When she finished, the little family left the room. Brennan had no need to go by her office, she already had her purse.

As they walked through the museum, he was thankful that he didn't have anything to carry. He needed both hands. One, he used to hold Parker's hand and the other he used to give his Bones a little support with his hand placed in the small of her back.

Brennan spoke first. "Booth, I texted Ernie and he's expecting us at 6:00."

Parker got the jump on Booth and managed to speak before his dad. "Dad, where are we going? I was hoping we could go some place cool like Dave and Busters."

Booth shook his head at his son's thoughts. "Bud, we're not going there tonight." He saw his son's face drop a little so he explained. "Bud, Bones wouldn't be able to have a lot of fun at Dave and Buster's because of her leg and you don't want her to feel left out do you."

Parker understood and said, "No, dad, I want Bones to go. Can we take Bones to Dave and Buster's when she feels better."

Brennan chimed in before Booth could speak. "Parker, I don't know what Dave and Buster's is, but I'd love to go with you. Tonight though, the place we are going has huge fish tanks. I know the owner and he's going to put us right by the tanks and make sure he feeds them while you're there."

That's all it took. "Cool!" Booth was excited that Brennan knew exactly what to say to make his little boy happy.

Booth helped both of his favorite people into his large SUV and put Brennan's crutches in the back. He contemplated putting them so she could reach them in the back seat, but decided against it. He liked helping her.

They made it to the restaurant about 10 minutes early and Ernie had everything ready for them. Brennan and Booth ordered, but the waiter told Parker that Ernie had special things for him.

Parker was enthralled by watching the fish and Brennan and Booth carried on a light conversation in between talking to him about the fish. It was a wonderful time. The waiter brought out there food and Booth smiled at what they brought for Parker. It was a mix of real sushi and kid's sushi. Booth smiled when he noticed that some of the rolls looked like sliced chicken nuggets wrapped in rice. His sauces were amusing too. Along with the regular sauces, there was a bowl of ketchup, honey mustard, and barbecue.

The trio ate in while Parker told them about school, his hockey team, and a new movie he just saw. When it came time for dessert, Ernie came around. "What'll it be for you guys? I've already got Parker's ready."

Parker's eyes grew wide. He was usually made to share a dessert with someone but this time he would get his own.

Booth order pie and Brennan ordered a crème brulee. She rarely ordered dessert, but figured that since the Booth men were getting dessert so she should join them.

A few minutes later, the desserts were served. Booth laughed when he saw Parker's. It was a plate of sushi looking food. When he looked closer he figured it out. Ernie had wrapped fruit rollups around rice krispie treats, and had put jelly beans in the center. He had dipping sauces of chocolate, marshmallow fluff, and caramel. It was a very nice touch.

They finished up and Booth was waiting patiently for the check that never came. Brennan interrupted his thoughts. "Booth, are we ready to go?" She asked.

"I'm waiting on the check Bones." He said.

"Oh, that, I went ahead and took care of it earlier when you took Parker to the restroom. It's my treat." She explained, careful not to damage Booth's alpha male side. "This day was my idea so I figured I could get this one. When we go to Busting Dave's you can pay." She said and Parker began to laugh hysterically. His response confused Brennan.

Parker looked up at her. "Bones-----It's Dave and Busters." He said while stifling his laugh. Booth just smiled at him in pride. It must be a Booth family trait to think Bones' misuse of words was funny.

They told the staff good bye as they left the restaurant. Once they were loaded back into the car, Booth looked at his 2 favorite people. Parker still looked like he had several hours of energy left in him, but Brennan looked like she could have fallen asleep hours ago. "Hey Bud, we're going to drop Bones off at her house and then we'll go home."

"Aw Dad, come on. It's just 7:30 and I brought Shaggy Dog. Bones has got to see that." He gave his dad his best pouty face.

Booth sighed. He wanted to spend more time with her too, but he took in her face. She was exhausted and had her head leaned against the glass. "Bud, Bones is tired. Maybe we can watch it another weekend with her and we can watch it at home." He explained.

"But Dad!" He whined as he pulled the DVD out of his backpack.

Booth went to speak again, but Brennan put her hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Parker, you can come in and watch it if you want. I hope you don't mind if I change clothes and take care of a couple of things while you get the movie started." She said.

Parker's expression changed immediately. "No, I don't mind Bones, that will be fine. I'll bring my pajamas in too." He said and went back to playing with his DS.

Booth decided it was time to try to talk some sense into his Bones. "Bones come on. You're exhausted. You need to take some medicine and rest. You've been up all day." He argued. "I know he wants to hang with you, but he'll be fine if you want us to just drop you off."

She rolled her eyes. "Booth, I'll be fine. I can rest on the couch while he watches the movie." She said. "Besides, I'm planning on just taking a big pain pill, doing the electro therapy, and icing my ankle anyway. He's not going to hurt me while I do that." She reasoned with her stubborn partner.

He was a little peeved, but didn't want to argue more. "Fine, but if you can't move tomorrow or Monday, don't blame me. Plus, IF Jameson clears you to work Monday, I don't want to have you all grumpy because you didn't rest." He was stern with her and she didn't blame him. He was probably right, but she hadn't enjoyed herself this much in a long time. She didn't want the weekend to end.

Booth helped her out of the car and they followed Parker who was practically running to her apartment. She spoke again as she pulled out her keys. "Booth, will you get the movie started? I'm going to take care of a couple of things." Parker bounded into the apartment and they heard the bathroom door shut. He was obviously putting on his pajamas.

Brennan walked into the kitchen and grabbed her prescriptions taking everything she was supposed to take. She then grabbed her electro therapy pack and headed to her bedroom. She passed Parker in the hall. He was sporting a pair of Kung Fu Panda pajamas. Brennan glanced at them very confused. She couldn't understand why a panda would be expected to do karate, but assumed it was a fictional character.

As she passed him, he put his hands up in a sweet gesture. It confused her a little, but she quickly understood what he wanted. She bent down as best she could and he gave her a big hug. He then kissed her cheek ever so softly.

Booth watched the interaction from down the hall and it tugged at his heart. He would just have to shoot anyone who said that she was cold or unfeeling because from what he saw, she had enough feelings to elicit tears from anyone. He was sure that he was in love with her, telling her was just the hard part.

Brennan smiled and went into her bedroom. She changed into a tank top and pajama pants and sat in the arm chair to do her exercises. She used a nearby trunk as a foot stool. Sitting on the bed would have been easier, but she would have fallen asleep immediately. She couldn't let Parker down like that.

She struggled through the exercises and was able to hold most of the tears back during the electro therapy. A few managed to escape, but she was tired. That didn't help her control the tears. She took a couple of minutes to collect herself and then washed her face to remove any traces of tears before Booth saw.

She went back into the living room and found Booth and Parker cuddled up on the couch watching some guy eat cereal like a canine. She noticed that Booth had set up the coffee table with some extra pillows and the cooling unit. There was also a coffee cup sitting beside the seat he obviously intended to be hers. 'Surely he didn't make coffee.' She thought.

"Hey, everything alright?" He said as she carefully sat down and had to use her hands to lift her leg onto the table.

She gave him a simple nod and put on the cooling unit. She sighed when the flow of cool air and water brought some relief.

Once situated, Booth spoke again. "Bones, that's some tea I found in your pantry. I figured you were too tired for coffee, but if you want me to make some, I will." He offered.

"No, thanks Booth. This is great. I actually forgot I had it. Angela gave it to me last time she insisted that I had a cold." She said as she took the first sip.

Booth laughed at her words. He remembered those few days that Brennan was stuffy, coughing, and obviously running a fever after they came back from London. She definitely had a cold, but wouldn't admit it to anyone. Any weaker person, including himself, would have stayed home, but not her. She was stronger than a little virus. Cam had tried to send her to the Jeffersonian health room, but she didn't go. She had fought it off after a couple of days of being miserable and snappy with Booth. He winced at the thought of her being sharp with him, but that's why he loved her. She was his Bones. He had managed to sneak a little bit of soup in to her after work one night while she was sick, but she certainly didn't let him help her like she was allowing now. She had come a long way in a few months.

20 more minutes into the movie, Parker sat up a little and looked around his father to find a sleeping Bones. "Dad, is Bones asleep?" He asked.

Booth nodded and put his finger over his lips indicating to his son to attempt to whisper. Booth did figure the attempts were futile since his son had almost no inside voice. "Yeah, Bud, she is, but let's let her sleep. She's really tired and her ankle's still hurting a lot." Parker nodded and got quite for a few more minutes.

Just a few minutes later, he tapped his dad on the shoulder. "Dad?" He waited until his eyes met his dad's. "What is Bones?" He asked.

Booth didn't understand the question at first. "Bud, what do you mean?"

"I mean, what is she? Is she your girlfriend or just your friend?" He clarified.

Booth sighed at the question of the year. "Well, Parker, she is a wonderful woman, but right now, she's just my partner and my best friend." He explained.

"Well dad, you look at her different than you look at your other friends. I told her when you brought me over with that balloon that time when she first got hurt that you thought she was pretty. "Booth nodded. At least now he knew what they talked about. "I think she liked it because she smiled when I told her." He finished.

"Bud, Bones is beautiful. I tell her that sometimes, but she is also a wonderful person. She is dedicated and fun and she is nice to daddy. I love being with her." He smiled as he thought of all the qualities he loved about her.

Parker nodded. He knew all that. "Dad, you need to tell her that. The counselor at school says we need to tell people how we feel." He spoke confidently to his dad.

"I will bud, I will. But I've got to find the right time. This is bigger than telling someone they hurt your feelings." He said and Parker was satisfied. His dad always did what he said he would do. His eyes went back to the last 15 minutes of the movie. Booth's eyes went back to looking at Bones.

When the movie finished, Booth sent Parker into the bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for bed. He knew he would fall asleep in the car so he wanted to be prepared. He grabbed Brennan a blanket from the closet and situated her so that she would be more comfortable lying on the couch. She didn't stir at all as he worked. Booth laughed thinking that she must have taken the maximum does of the narcs.

He covered her up, swept some hair out of her eyes, and placed a kiss on her cheek. When he pulled back from the kiss, he heard a small, sleepy sentence come from her lips and it shocked his heart. He was pretty sure she was sleeping, but still it raced through his mind like fire. "Goodnight Booth, I'll miss you tomorrow."

It was a simple admission, but powerful. He now knew that she wanted to be with him. Sleepy voices don't lie. He place another kiss on her forehead, cleaned up a couple of things, and he and Parker turned to walk out. He was already lonely. He missed his Bones. As he closed the door. He uttered a simple comment, so quietly that she wouldn't have heard it in her drug induced state, but he at least said it out loud. "I love you Bones." With that simple phrase he shut the door and walked to catch Parker who was waiting in the elevator.


	43. Early Mornings and Lazy Afternoons

**A/N - Hope things are going well for everyone. Thanks for all of the reviews. I hate that ff has been down for several days. I just finished this up today anyway, but I think I've been in withdrawals.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's a long one.**

**Thanks to MickeyBoggs for proofing it for me. I'm usually decent with the grammar, but it's nice to have someone to double check for me. **

**As always, please review and let me know what you think. Also, I'm always open to suggestions. **

Disclaimer - Bones belongs to Fox.

Chapter 43

Brennan woke slowly to a very obnoxious sound. It was one that had woken her many times in the past. Sometimes, she jumped up with excitement when she heard the sound, but today it bothered her. She popped open her eyes and tried to establish where she was, her mind was still fuzzy from medicine. She grabbed her phone. It was a simple movement that required entirely too much energy from her achy body.

She tapped the on switch on the fourth ring without even looking at the time or the caller. "Br—," she attempted to force the desired sound out. Her body was so foggy with sleep that she barely squeaked and had to clear her throat of sleep before she could actually speak. "Brennan," she said very softly.

She completely expected to hear Booth's strong voice on the other end of the phone, but she received an unexpected surprise. The voice she received on the other side was not a pleasant one, nor was it one that she wanted to hear at 6:00 on a Sunday morning. She had forced herself to look at the clock and she was not a happy camper. The voice continued to speak as she was trying to focus on the words entering ear but being fogged by her brain.

When there was a brief pause, Brennan finally spoke. "Is this really necessary at 6:00?" She asked.

"_I am sorry Dr. Brennan. I had been told that you were normally at the lab by 6:00 am, 7 days a week, so I assumed you were working already." _Nichols explained. _"I just wanted to see if you were able to take a look at Abigail Harmon's remains yesterday. Your intern told me on Friday that you were planning on working for a while yesterday."_

Brennan rolled her eyes. Any other motion would be too much effort considering it would go undetected anyway. "I was able to look at them, but I am not finished." She spoke in a very irritated voice. "At this point, however, I really don't remember what I saw. I'm having a little trouble thinking right now. It is 6:00 am and I am technically still under the influence of hydrocodone bitartrate." Brennan was so groggy that she wasn't even sure she said the active ingredient correctly but she figured that Nichols wouldn't know the difference anyway. She didn't strike her as a person of great intelligence. Otherwise, she would know better than to call her at 6:00. The only people with that privilege were Booth, Angela, and Cam.

Nichols smiled oddly on the other end of the phone. Brennan sounded like a sleepy teenager. She had probably alienated the anthropologist, but it probably gave her the appearance that she was serious about the case. "_I understand Dr. Brennan, I'm sorry I bothered you, and I hope that you have a great day. I will be anxious to hear how your appointment goes well tomorrow. I look forward to working with you more closely in the next few weeks."_ Nichols finished.

Honestly, Nichols had not called her that early with malicious intent. She really did think she would really be up by now. She had called her because she had changed her approach with Booth. She figured that if she could get Dr. Brennan on her side she would be in a better position to continue her partnership with Booth. She had done a little research about Brennan's injury and her prognosis wasn't great. It would be possible that she would never regain full strength or range of motion in her ankle and if that happened, Brennan would never be able to pass the field test. If that happened, at least Booth would want her as his partner over some of the other available agents.

Nichols knew there Brennan might be able to recover. From what she had heard around the bureau, she was strong and might be able to work through the pain she experienced. If the situation went in that direction, she would work to drive a wedge in between Brennan and Booth. She had heard about their bickering and any relationship whose participants bickered like that was bound to implode at some point. She might be able to jump in at just the right time and end up with Booth as a partner.

If those scenarios didn't happen, she would still have some fun trying. She might be a grown adult, but she had a reputation in high school and college for being a bad ass. They had to base that movie mean girls on someone and she was probably part of the inspiration.

Brennan didn't wait for her to give her signal of ending the conversation. She simply clicked her phone off as Nichols was lost in thought. This time, she decided to be smart. She held her end button long enough to turn the phone off completely. If someone needed her badly enough, they could call the house. Otherwise, they could wait until she decided to enter the land of the living. If she had her choice, that would be next Thursday.

Honestly, she didn't remember ever feeling this drained. She knew it was illogical, but she ached in places of her body she didn't realize had nerve receptors to feel pain. "Ugh," she groaned audibly. "I feel like I've been hit by a truck. Is it possible for someone's ears and hair to hurt?" She continued and managed to heave herself up and off of the couch. She grabbed her crutches, walked to the kitchen, and popped another dose of narcotics. She hadn't done that consecutively since Wednesday, but she needed to let her body relax so she would be able to function. She didn't bother to eat anything. She just drank some water, grabbed a couple of things from her medicine cabinet and went back to her couch. She rubbed some Ben-Gay on her shoulders and considered getting a heating pad, but quickly determined the effort wouldn't be worth it. She lay back down and within minutes she was back asleep.

***

Meanwhile, across town, the younger Booth was bouncing on his father's bed trying to make him get up on a Sunday morning. Parker had always been an early riser and Booth usually was too, but he had struggled with his thoughts until wee hours of the morning before finally giving in to his exhaustion. He had only fallen asleep about 3 hours before and didn't want to drag himself out of his stupor.

Parker would have no part of allowing his dad to sleep. "Dad, Dad, DAAAAD!!!" He said as he jumped. "Wake up, the sun's out." Booth knew he had lost the battle at that point. He had always told his son that he had to stay in bed until the sun came up. Booth cracked his eyes and saw that Parker was telling the truth. In appropriate sniper style, Booth shot up, grabbed his son by his Kung Fu Panda pajamas and dragged him down for a tickle war.

Parker laughed and cried as his dad tickled him. Booth only relented when his son cried out, "Dad, stop, I'm going to pee on myself." Booth stopped immediately. He remembered the times his son had wet the bed at night and he hated changing the sheets. He wouldn't risk it.

Booth dragged himself up, made his bed, and put on a t-shirt. Just as he was walking into the kitchen, his cell phone chirped. He walked back into his bedroom and flipped open his phone. "Booth" he said as he pulled the phone to his ear.

'Nichols—what a way to start a Sunday morning.' He thought and rolled his eyes. He was silent for a few seconds as she spoke. Finally, he interrupted when one of her remarks royally pissed him off. "Woah, Nichols, slow down." He said in an aggravated tone. "You called Bones this morning?" He was sure that even she had the brains to make better decisions that that.

Nichols answered very dryly. She didn't want Booth to think that was nervous about the situation. She really wasn't, but wanted him to understand that so she spoke very formally. "Yes, I did and she informed me that she was able to look at the remains yesterday, but couldn't accurately recall her findings. It seems as though she was under the influence of some type of controlled substance." She said.

Booth did his best not to yell, Parker was in the apartment. "Nichols! First of all, you are to NEVER call Dr. Brennan at this time in the morning. Secondly, of course Dr. Brennan is under the influence of controlled substances. It's called pain killers. I'm not happy that you bothered her. She needs to rest so that she can help us tomorrow with the case. Lastly, I would advise you to back off a little bit from Dr. Brennan unless you want her to give you a reason to borrow some of her pain killers." He was serious with his threat. His Bones couldn't be happy about that phone call.

Nichols decided she had better comply. "I understand Booth. I really just wanted to get an update from her and Angela said that she was always in the lab by 6:00. I didn't mean to wake her. I will see you at the Hoover in the morning." She said.

Booth was satisfied that she understood. "I won't see you until we are ready to interrogate the boyfriend. I'm going to take Bones to physical therapy and her doctor visit. I'll call you." With that, he shut the phone and let out a huge huff. He couldn't believe Nichols.

He contemplated whether or not he should call Bones and check on her. He figured she was sore and tired. He decided that she would call if she needed him. For now, he just hoped she managed to get herself comfortable and back to sleep. He would call Angela in a little while and make sure she would send him a text message letting him know how she was.

Booth headed back into the kitchen to find his son pulling the flour out of the pantry. "Bub, I guess this means you want pancakes, huh?" He said.

Parker announced proudly, "Yep, it's early. We have time before we have to go to mass, right?" He asked.

"Yeah, we do bub. We don't have to be at the church until 9:00." Booth smiled at his son and the pair set out to make the pancakes.

Thirty minutes later, the pancakes were done and the Booth boys sat down to eat.

"So dad, are we picking Bones up after mass so that she can go with us to the zoo and to hockey practice?" Parker said almost in a rhetorical manner.

Booth smiled a little and thought 'has he already grown so attached that he just assumes we will spend the day with her?' He couldn't blame his son. Bones was a very addictive person.

"No bud, we're going to spend the day just me and you. Bones is still hurt and really tired from yesterday. She's going to spend some time with Angela and rest for most of the day." He explained to his son, but what came next surprised him.

Parker looked like he was in thought but spoke a couple of seconds later. "Okay, but she's not alone, right? She doesn't need to be alone." Parker stated very definitively.

"No bud, she'll be with Angela." Booth smiled at his son. Obviously, he had picked up on some of his father's protective tendencies. This made Booth swell with pride.

The rest of the morning was relatively routine for the separated trio. Booth and Parker went to mass and to a pizza place for lunch. They then headed to The National Zoo for a couple of hours. Parker loved the zoo and Booth had learned to enjoy it since it made his son happy. Their conversation was very father & son-ish. Booth was glad that he didn't ask about Bones anymore. He didn't know how he would answer him if he prodded any deeper.

Around 2:00, Booth and Parker had stopped to get a snack and Booth decided that 16 hours of not checking in on Bones was more than enough. He grabbed his cell phone and dialed Angela.

Angela had arrived at Brennan's apartment with lunch in hand around noon. She had found her friend still sleeping with her brow furrowed in discomfort. Angela did notice that her prescription bottles were out, so she figured she had woken up at some point and taken some medicine. Hopefully she'd wake up soon.

Angela had taken out her laptop and was shopping online when her cell rang. "Afternoon, Mr. Sniper who is afraid of a 120 pound anthropologist" Angela always prided herself in answering the phone differently every time Booth called.

She got the typical response. "Very funny Angela. How's Bones?" He didn't beat around the bush.

Angela shook her head, he had it so bad. "She's still sleeping. I think she must have woken up at some point and took some medicine. " She explained. "I hope she wakes up soon. We've got shopping to do."

Booth became angrier at Angela's report. He was mad at himself and Nichols. He shouldn't have let her push herself yesterday and Nichols shouldn't have called her. "Yeah, I talked to Nichols and she called Bones around 6:00 this morning." Booth explained.

"That. . ." Angela started but was cut off by Booth.

"I know Angela, but I took care of it. She's going to leave her alone." He laughed at the artist. In some ways, she's almost as protective as me.

"Good, she needs to be taken down Booth." Angela was angry.

Booth agreed, but chose to with hold comment. "Take care of her Angela, send me a text message when she wakes up and tell her I'll call her tonight. If she needs me before that, call me." He said.

"I will Mr. Protective. I think she's getting ready to stir now. I gotta go." She flipped the phone shut.

Angela quietly walked over to Brennan from her post across the room. She sat in a chair beside her friend and waited for her to enter the living world again.

A few short minutes later, Brennan pushed up from her back using her elbows. She then looked at her friend. She said one word. "Time?"

Angela laughed at her friend who was always obsessed with time and what she needed to be doing. "Bren, it's 1:15. You hungry? I brought some sandwiches from the little deli down from my house." She offered.

Brennan rubbed her eyes, "A little." She said. Honestly, her stomach felt a little weird. She had probably taken too much medicine on an empty stomach. It was bound to begin to impact her. She had taken so much medicine over the last 2 weeks. The coatings were going to impact her stomach lining at some point.

"Ange, I'm going to go get dressed and use the electrotherapy machine. I'll be right back." She said and headed to her bedroom.

Angela went to get the lunch ready. She grabbed the plates and glanced up at her friend as she passed by on the way to her bedroom. She was obviously uncomfortable. 'I wonder what she and Booth did yesterday to make her that sore?' She made a mental note to ask her later.

She grabbed her phone and sent Booth the requested text. 'B's ok. seems sore but ok. I'll take care of her. Will be fine.' She just hoped Booth didn't come running at the word sore.

They ate lunch and talked casually. Brennan still felt a little off, so she didn't eat a lot. Angela noticed and like a good friend, she questioned. Her interrogation didn't sit well with her friend.

"Ange, I'm fine." She insisted and the followed up with a scientific explanation for why medicines can irritate the lining of the digestive tract. That was pretty effective in getting the artist to drop the subject.

After they finished, Brennan went to clear the dishes and Angela tried again to stop her. She was obviously sore and moved more slowly that Angela had seen her moving before. "Bren, go sit down, let me do that." She said as she tried to take a plate from her.

"Angela, you are mother goosing me." Brennan said sternly and was surprised when the comment was met by a hysterical laugh. "What?" She was now frustrated.

Angela caught her breath and said, "Bren, sweetie, it's mother henning and I'm not being a mother hen. I'm just trying to help you out. You know it's okay to need help." She reached in and gave her best friend a tight hug and felt how tense her shoulders and back were. "Oh my god, Bren, your back is as tight as rock. " She said and then focused her attention on something else.

Brennan was confused. She didn't know why her friend would quit so easily about the whole taking it easy thing. She didn't let it bother her. At least now she was able to do the dishes on her own.

She vaguely heard Angela on her cell phone in the living room. When she walked back into the kitchen she again spoke to her friend. "Ange, please tell me you didn't call Booth. I'm fine, just sore from all the activity from yesterday. My trapezius and deltoids are admittedly stiffened, but I'll be fine. I just don't like those stupid crutches. Besides, Booth's with Parker at the zoo and then they have their first hockey practice. He needs to spend the day with his son."

Angela smiled at the true fear she saw in her friend's eyes. It wasn't fear of Booth knowing that she was hurting. It was fear of admitting feelings and admitting that she wanted him with her at all times. "No, Bren, I didn't call Booth. I called my masseuse. She's very good and makes house calls. Hodgins called her for me after the whole hypnosis incident." She explained. "She's going to be over here at 4:30 to give both of us massages. Now, come on. We have nails to do and clothes to order before she turns you into putty."

The next 2 hours were filled with laughing and girl talk. Angela strategically avoided talking about Booth. She would get to that eventually when Brennan opened up the door.

Brennan had done Angela's toenails first and then they spent an obscene amount of money on clothes. Angela helped her pick out lots of wide legged pants that would fit over the rim of her cast without a problem. She also got some shoes that were flat but still professional. Angela even convinced her to get some she considered hot.

"Bren, what are you going to wear to the Jeffersonian's Halloween Party? You know Halloween is in 3 weeks right?" Angela asked.

Brennan sighed. "Actually, I'm hoping that I can get out of that. I really can't dress up well right now and I know I won't be able to weight bear by then. What kind of costume could I wear with a cast on my leg and using crutches?"

Angela shook her head. "No way Bren, you're going. I'll think of something for you." The artist was resolute. "Now, let me paint your nails." She said as she closed Brennan's laptop.

Brennan physically tensed at the mention and tried to redirect. "Angela, did you bring the ice cream? I'm a little hungry and my stomach still feels a little weak so I don't think solid food is a great idea." Brennan stated. She wasn't doing it intentionally, but she realized then that she was afraid of letting Angela touch her, afraid it would make her hurt.

"Sure sweetie." Angela said as she stood to retrieve the requested container. She handed it to Brennan and sat back down. "Okay, now, just put your legs on the table and I'll work on that while you eat the ice cream. I'm not hungry yet." She didn't even dream that her friend might be nervous.

Brennan stalled and thought again. "Uh, Ange, maybe we shouldn't paint my nails. Um, the casting process might mess them up." She said proud of herself for a partially logical argument.

Angela was still a little clueless. "Bren, I'll redo them if we need to. Up you go." She said.

When Brennan didn't listen, Angela looked her in the eye and realized what the holdup was. "Bren, honey, if I hurt you, you tell me and I'll stop. I think you'll be okay." She wanted her friend to trust her.

"I know it's irrational Ange. I know you won't hurt me, but I'm just nervous about letting someone else touch anywhere near my ankle." She was honest. She had actually avoided touching her toes or calf as much as possible herself.

"I'll be careful Bren, I promise." Angela said and Brennan nodded cautiously and placed her injured leg on the table. Angela worked carefully and only heard a couple of hisses escape her friend's lips. She was actually surprised that simply touching her toes hurt her friend. She finished up and looked at her friend. "Bren, want that ice thing or something?" She offered.

Brennan just shook her head and looked at the clock. "Hey Ange, could you hand me the bottle of Advil and some crackers too. I need to take something before the masseuse gets here." Brennan wanted to make sure her friend knew that she wasn't hurting because of her. She was pretty gentle, but any motion made her leg hurt.

Angela just nodded and brought the meds over. Only a couple of minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Angela opened it and spoke. "Hi, Janie, come on in." She smiled. "I'm so glad you had openings." She continued. "This is my best friend Temperance Brennan."

Janie was very kind. "Nice to meet you. Angela says you just had ankle surgery. How's the pain?"

Brennan looked at her and contemplated how to phrase it. "Ehh," and a shrug of the shoulders was the answer she opted to give. It elicited a smile from Angela who was pretty sure had never heard Brennan make that sound before.

Janie nodded compassionately and Angela took her into Brennan's bedroom to set up the table. Within minutes she returned to the living room. "Alright ladies, who's going first?" She asked.

Angela shot a glance a Brennan signifying that she would let her choose. "Angela why don't you go ahead? I'm going to try to relax and let the Advil begin to circulate through my blood stream to my pain receptors before I go." Her reasoning brought a smile to Janie's face. She and Angela had discussed Brennan during some of Angela's sessions. She had told Janie that she was super scientific. Janie now knew she was right.

Angela followed Janie to Brennan's bedroom. When they closed the door, Angela spoke. "I know I booked you for two thirty minute sessions, but only spend 15 with me and give Bren the rest. She's really sore and stiff from the crutches." Janie just nodded and Angela climbed onto the table.

Angela was already pretty relaxed, so Janie didn't have a whole lot to work on. They did talk a little about Hodgins and the developments since she had last had a massage. She hadn't even told Brennan yet, but they were talking on the phone every night and Angela was very close to asking him out again. There was a strong possibility that he might tell her no and that was why she hadn't acted already. Rejection was awful.

Before long, the time was up and Angela redressed and went to get Brennan. She was sitting on the couch with her head back. She wasn't sleeping but did seem a little more relaxed than when Angela had gone back. "Bren, it's your turn. Medicine helping at all?" She asked as she handed Brennan her crutches.

Brennan nodded and headed back to her bedroom. Angela was thankful that she hadn't looked at the clock and wasn't wearing a watch. If she were, she would have noticed that the massage time wasn't split 50 / 50 and give her grief about it.

Janie was a very sweet lady and immediately offered Brennan a supportive hand on her elbow as she put her crutches against the bed and sat carefully onto the trunk at the foot of the bed. "Here, put this on and just call for me and I'll come back in and help you up onto the table." Janie handed her a soft white robe and made sure she was completely stable before she stepped out of the room to give her a little privacy.

It only took Brennan a few seconds to shed her lounge wear and get the robe on. She called for Janie and she came back in to help. Getting onto the table wouldn't seem tricky, but the problem was that she still really didn't have the strength in her leg to lift the cast. She mostly had to use her hands to do that. She dreaded the hard cast. It would be much heavier and would probably even be harder to hold up as she walked with crutches.

Janie was quiet but helpful and Brennan was quickly on the table with her head buried in the pillows. Janie went to work. She started by rubbing her hands gently over Brennan's shoulders and as Angela had described, she was one enormous knot. "Angela was right. You're really, really stiff. I can go easy on you, or I can work it all out. It's your choice." She posed the question to Brennan.

Brennan didn't really have to consider the options. "I HAVE to go back to work tomorrow, so go ahead and do what you can." She answered.

Janie was not surprised by the answer. "Okay, let me just go ahead and apologize for any discomfort I might cause you." With that, she went to work.

She worked her arms and shoulders out and was surprised by how quiet the anthropologist was. It had to be hurting like hell. 'Wow, she's tough,' she thought to herself. It wasn't until she reached the muscles in her lower back that she audibly winced and instinctively pulled away from her.

Janie placed her hands on her back in an effort to warm the muscles a little before she continued and after a few seconds, Brennan began to relax a little bit. "Ready?" Janie asked.

Brennan nodded slightly giving her permission to continue. Brennan winced several more times but didn't pull away again. Janie was able to work most of the knots and muscle stiffness out. She was pretty sure, however, that the stiffness would return fairly quickly if she had to continue on crutches. She decided to prod just a little bit. "Temperance?" She asked to see if the anthropologist was coherent.

Brennan, who was somewhere in between relaxation and discomfort answered her with at simple "Um hmm?"

Janie took that as an okay to go on. "I was just wondering how long you were going to have to use crutches," she asked as she continued to work her stubborn muscles.

Brennan was very succinct with her answer. "First of December at least." She followed up with a sharp 'ow' as Janie hit a very tender spot just above her pants line.

"Sorry," Janie said and lightened her touch up a little bit. "That's a long time to spend straining your lower back. It might help for you to go ahead and schedule a massage every so often to help with the muscle tightness." She explained, hoping that her offer wouldn't be viewed as a sales pitch.

"I'll think about it. My schedule is pretty tight most of the time, but this is very nice." She said before she made some type of audible groan as some tension was released from her lower back muscles.

Janie could tell she was relaxing and didn't want to think about anything so she left it. She'd just tell Angela that she needed to schedule appointments. If she knew anything about the artist, it was that she was pushy and probably got her way in most situations.

Janie finished up by working with Brennan's legs for a little while. She did work with her left thigh, but didn't touch her left calf. She knew the type of injury Brennan had sustained and pretty much considered the lower leg off limits. She did spend quite a while working her right leg and couldn't believe the number of knots that had collected in those muscles. She would have to be having muscle cramps at night at the very minimum.

She replaced the robe over Brennan's back and gently patted her on the shoulder indicating she was finished up and going to speak. "Temperance, I'll step out and give you time to get dressed and then I'll pack up." She looked at the completely relaxed scientist and questioned a little bit. "Are you going to be able to move?" She asked, half-joking, half-serious.

Brennan snapped out of the massage-induced trance to speak again as she forced herself to sit up. "Yeah, thanks. I'm just really relaxed. She said." She grabbed her crutches and managed to get up and start the task of redressing. If she had been alone, she would have simply dropped onto the bed and gone to sleep.

While Brennan got dressed, Janie talked with Angela. She made sure she knew to schedule massages for Brennan from time to time and as soon as Brennan exited her bedroom, she excused herself to pack up her things.

Brennan took her spot back on the couch and exhaled deeply. Angela opened the door as Janie prepared to leave and as soon as she closed the door, she returned to sit beside her best friend on the couch.

"So, Bren, I told you she was great." She stated. "I'm sure that was the best massage you've ever had, right." She followed up.

Brennan spoke in a mumbly tone. "Not the best." She stated very simply.

"Bren, come on, I know good and well that you don't ever go to a spa to get a massage. Besides, I'm pretty sure that they don't offer massages at archaeological digs in Peru or anything. Where on earth would you have had a massage better than Janie?" The artist was a little bothered by her friend's comments. If she did have a better masseuse, she sure as heck better give her the name.

Brennan kept her eyes closed and answered. "Booth has bigger hands and they're warmer. It's nicer that way."

Angela's mouth hit the floor. She wasn't sure if Brennan was in control of her own tongue or not. As soon as she could pick her jaw up she began to ramble. "Bren, you've been holding back on me. When on earth did Booth give you a massage? How was it? When was it? Did it lead up to anything I would do?"

Her friend's rambling pulled Brennan from her stupor. "Angela, calm down. Breathe." She waited for her friend to calm a little and then she elaborated. She was kicking herself internally for once again not controlling her tongue. "Ange, it's not a big deal. He's just given me a few massages over the last couple of weeks. My muscles have been tight and he can tell. NOTHING followed it. I ended up falling asleep every time anyway." She finished.

"Bren, that's great. No guy you've ever dated gave you a massage without asking from a certain kind of massage of his own 15 minutes later." She spoke and was so excited for the news of the development. "I give you guys to Thanksgiving and you'll be inseparable." She predicted and the words drew an eye-roll from her best friend.

"Ange, I'm just trying to wait and let Booth make the move. Deep down, he is highly traditional and values chivalry. He has to feel like he is in control. It's a feature of his alpha male personality." Brennan explained. She had truly thought about it and had decided that she would let Booth determine the pace of their relationship or whether or not a relationship would develop.

"Fine, Bren, I'll let you wait, BUT, if you haven't bought your first class ticket on the Booth Express by Christmas, I'm slipping drugs in both of your eggnogs and locking you in the Egyptian storage closet." She said while grinning. She'd do it if she had to, but at the rate they were going, drastic measures wouldn't be needed. "Now, let's watch the movies I brought. It's chick flick time all the way. I brought Pretty Woman, You've Got Mail, and Sleepless in Seattle."

She stood and put the DVD in the player. The rest of the evening was sent in simple friendship. They ate together, laughed together and cried together. They watched two movies and both were getting sleepy around 10:00. Angela opted to leave then and Brennan got ready for bed. She crawled in but gripped her cell phone waiting on Booth to call. She knew he would call and check on her before he called it a night. At 10:35, she was greeted with her ring tone.

"Brennan," she answered, trying not to sound like an 8th grader.

"_Hey Bones. How's the leg treating you today?" _He asked.

She answered him very simply, giving him an update on her feelings and the massage Angela had arranged.

They talked about nothings for a few minutes. Booth updated her on the day with Parker and she was happy to hear they had a fun day. As they spoke, Booth could tell that Brennan was sleepy and doing her best not to nod off. He decided to end the call so they could both try to rest. "_Alright Bones, I'll pick you up at 7:00. I have to drop Parker at school and then we'll go to your appointments and find out when you'll be able to kick my rear end again."_

Brennan was able to process the words of Booth and gave him a simple, "Good night Booth," before ending the call. She was content. She closed her eyes and slipped into a deep, dream laden sleep. The content of her dreams was not a surprise. A beautiful, brown eyed man who was the model of an alpha male. He was exactly the type of man her logical side told her she shouldn't love, but her heart trumped logic. She had fallen in love with Seeley Booth and no part of her could deny that. Now, she had to wait until he was ready to ask her to give him that love.

***

Booth closed the phone, content that his Bones was okay and well taken care of. He only wanted her to be comfortable and happy. He knew deep down that he could give her those things. They were things she hadn't received in over 15 years, but he could give them to her now. He would make sure she was comfortable and happy until she was old and gray. She was his Bones and he loved her with every bone in his body. Booth closed his eyes and dreamed of his love, his Bones.


	44. Follow Up and Frogger

**A/N - First off, thanks so much to MickeyBoggs for proof reading this chapter for me. I really appreciate it. I'm still sorry it's been so long since I last updated. I've been a little more interested in something other than this story. I know that's bad, but that's how it goes sometimes. Hopefully now that spring break is coming and I'll have less papers to grade I can get more written. I enjoy writing. I just hope you guys enjoy reading. I always worry that I put out quality work.**

**This chapter is a little bit of a transitional chapter, but some fun things do happen. It is a long one though. I seem to have traded frequent updates for long ones. **

**As always, please let me know what you think. I haven't been doing as well as I would like about personally responding to every review, but please know that I appreciate each and every one of them. It's good to hear the positive feed back and suggestions. If you have ideas, please send them my way.**

Disclaimer - Bones is property of Fox--Trust me. If it was mine, we wouldn't have waited 3 weeks for new episodes.

Chapter 44

The next morning was much easier for Brennan than the previous morning. She woke with her alarm and quickly found that she could at least move without being greeted with aches and pains. 'Maybe there is something to be said about resting like people are always recommending I do,' she thought. Honestly, she was thankful for the lazy day and the massage Angela had arranged for her. She was still achy, but would at least be able to move and possibly might even make it to 5:00 without collapsing.

She peeked at the clock to make sure of the time. 5:30, plenty of time for her to get ready before Booth came knocking at her door. She rolled out bed and made her way into the bathroom. She ran a very hot bath and climbed in. She soaked for about 15 minutes and gave the water the opportunity to relax her body even further.

As the water started to cool, she turned the hot on again and washed her hair and body before hoisting herself out of the tub. She hoped she would still be able to take baths once she got her hard cast put on later that day. She'd be miserable otherwise.

She went back into her bedroom and got dressed. She put on her makeup and scrunched her hair with a little bit of gel. For some reason, she felt like wearing her hair wavy. She hadn't done that in a long time. She'd probably get comments about it from Angela, but she didn't care.

She finished up and grabbed her cell phone and started to pack her things up for the day when she noticed she had a text message. She pushed a button to display the message. "_Got bfast. Park & I will be there 640."_

She shook her head. She wasn't surprised by his actions. He was probably afraid that she wouldn't eat if he didn't bring her food. She finished packing up and headed into the kitchen where she took some Advil and threw a few pill bottles into her bag. She turned on the coffee pot and was making out a to-do list when she heard a key jingling in her door.

Before she even turned around, she said "Hey Booth."

Before he could speak, Parker had let go of his father's hand and ran to Brennan to get a hug. "Morning Bones," he said. "We brought you breakfast because you need to eat. It's some kind of oatmeal stuff from the diner." He explained. "I got pancakes though, so if yours tastes like rubber, you can have some of mine."

Brennan smiled. "Thank you Parker."

Booth sat the bags on the counter and walked over to her. "Morning Bones." He gave her a smile. He had a burning desire to walk over to her, pull her into a hug, and place a gentle kiss onto her forehead. He stared at her a little longer than was probably appropriated, but she looked hot and he couldn't help it. 'She hasn't worn her hair like that in forever,' he thought. It was all wavy and sexy and, he thought further, 'She had to go and put that low cut blue top and pewter clunky necklace with it.' He shook his head and pulled his mind out of the gutter as he thought, 'She doesn't know what she does to me.' At that point, he was thankful that he had great self-control. Otherwise, he would have kissed her right there.

Booth settled for brushing up against her as he reached over her to grab two coffee cups. He inhaled very deeply and appreciated her scent. 'God, she smells good.' He thought to himself.

Booth was thankful that Parker started a conversation. He figured Bones would pick up on his staring soon if there wasn't a distraction.

Parker was full of energy. "Bones, I can't wait to take my project to school. My teacher is going to love it." He said. "I hope that I get picked to tell everyone at parent night about my project. You promised you would come, right Bones?" He finished as Booth slid his plate of pancakes in front of him. The 6-year-old didn't hesitate to dig his fork into the fluffy goodness.

Brennan smiled at the sight. 'There are very few things that will stop a Booth from talking, but food is always effective,' she thought. She sat beside Parker and began eating her oatmeal. Booth gave Parker a glass of orange juice and sat 2 coffee cups on the table before taking his own seat.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, but it was outside of Booth's nature to go more than a few minutes without checking on his Bones. He was relatively quiet. He really didn't want Parker jumping into the conversation. He and Rebecca had worked hard to train Parker on when adults wanted to carry on conversations without the input of kids. Hushed tones were one of the cues they had taught Parker. "Bones, are you better today?" He kept his question simple.

She swallowed her bite of oatmeal and nodded. "Movement is much more comfortable today, but I'm still not up to much physical activity." She explained.

He gave her a little smile and opted to ask a few questions to prep himself for the news she would receive today. "So, Bones, what do you think you appointments will be like today?" He asked and then focused on finishing up his breakfast.

Brennan took her last bite of oatmeal before answering. "I would assume they'll do lots of range of motion checks. They'll redo x-rays and then put a cast on me." She explained. "I think Jameson will probably map out a time line for when I am able to begin certain types of therapy and maybe even bear some weight."

Booth just nodded and stood to clear the dishes. Brennan followed suit, but went into bathroom to brush her teeth.

In just a few minutes, Brennan returned to find the two Booth boys waiting on her. She checked the clock on the microwave and saw that it was now 7:10. She headed toward the door and said, "Let's blow this popcorn stand."

The Booth boys erupted in laughter. Parker took the opportunity to correct the smartest person he knew. "Bones," he put about 10 syllables in her name. "It's popsicle stand. Even I know that one." He laughed.

Brennan just smiled. She was used to being corrected by a Booth. Lately, though, it seemed that the younger Booth was as good at correcting her as the elder. 'Genetics run deep,' she thought.

They walked out of her apartment and loaded into the elevator. Of course, Parker had to handle all of the button pushing. They loaded into the SUV. Brennan placed her backpack just below Parker's feet and they headed toward physical therapy. It was a short drive, but Parker always managed to make conversation. "Hey Bones?" He called.

She gently turned toward him and said, "Yeah Parker?"

"I was thinking," he began. "My birthday is the second week in December and I wanted to have a dinosaur party." He explained very succinctly. "Do you think you could help?" He gave her his best set of Booth eyes.

She smiled at the question and wondered how two men could share so many facial expressions. "Sure Parker, I'd love to help, if it's okay with your mom and dad."

Parker spoke loudly. "I asked my mom last night and she said it was fine if you helped. I don't think she really likes dinosaurs that much." He explained and then thought a little bit. "Daddy, your birthday is in. . ." He stopped speaking and started to count on his fingers but quickly gave up. "A little less than a month. Do you know what kind of party you want?" He didn't even give his father time to answer before he threw out the next question. "Bones, did you know my dad doesn't like birthday parties but his birthday is November 7th?" He chimed.

Booth was turning a little red at his son's tattling. Brennan noticed and spoke first. "Actually, Parker, I did know that and I don't really think your dad wants a party." She said. "Booth, isn't that the week you will have Parker all week?"

Booth glanced at her and nodded. "It is." He answered very dryly.

"Parker, I was going to make mac and cheese for you and your dad one night that week anyway. Why don't we have a little party, just the 3 of us, at my place? I'll cook mac and cheese and you can pick out whatever kind of cake you want for your dad." She hoped that would make Booth feel a little more comfortable.

Parker almost yelled when he said, "Yippee! That will be a lot of fun. I love mac and cheese! Thanks Bones." She just nodded to him from the front seat and then refocused her eyes on the road even though she wasn't driving. After only 5 seconds of silence, Parker jumped in with one final question. "Bones, could Cam, Angela and Jack come though? My dad really likes them so it wouldn't really be a party." He reasoned.

She grinned as she realized that Booth must have talked about her team to Parker. She was pleased that he accepted all of them. "Parker, if your dad is okay with it, it will be fine by me." She finished and the conversation was over.

A couple of seconds later, she felt 2 brown objects peering at her so she turned toward Booth. He gave her a peaceful smile and mouthed, "Thanks, Bones."

They made the remainder of the drive in silence and Booth once again pulled under the covered drive at physical therapy and hopped out. He grabbed her crutches and helped her down out of the car. She realized that she had forgotten her back pack. She started to open the car door when Booth placed his hand hers and meant for her to allow him to get it. She thought about protesting, but wasn't sure if it was because she could do it herself or if it was because she wanted to keep touching Booth for longer. After a couple of seconds, she withdrew her hand. Booth grabbed her backpack and held her steady as she put it on. After she was situated, she gave him a nod and started toward the sliding doors.

"Bones," he called as she headed in. "I'll be back as soon as I drop Parker off. Will you be okay?" There was true compassion in his voice. He knew this was the first time in over a week that she would have to try to rotate her ankle or allow someone to manipulate it. He just hoped that it wouldn't be too painful for his Bones.

She gave him a smile. "I'll be fine Booth." She turned, but did a slight double back. "Booth, thanks." She said just before she entered the building.

Booth hopped back in the SUV and headed toward Parker's school.

Brennan signed in at the reception desk and, as always, was sent straight back to find Marc.

"Morning Temperance," he said as he greeted her in the hallway. "How was yesterday?"

She shrugged a little as he held open the exam room door for her to go in. "I was considerably sore, but most of that seems to have dissipated. I'm still achy, but it's tolerable. I had a long day on Saturday after leaving here. I'm fairly certain I over-exerted causing muscle spasms and fatigue."

Marc just nodded. He didn't know her very well, but could tell that she was going to push herself beyond every limit her body gave her. She would be in some pain, but ultimately, she would recover. Of that, he was certain.

"That's pretty common." He stated. "I know life is important and gets in the way, but you need to take it easy. Honestly, you should keep that leg elevated several hours a day for at least another week or so. You're only 1 week post op, but Jameson will probably go over all of that with you today. He'll be the one to determine if you are recovering well enough to return to work anyway." He explained further.

"I intend to go back to work today," she said.

Marc just laughed at her resolve and helped her up onto the table. "Temperance, I'm going to go ahead and remove the soft cast. Did you take some pain medicine this morning?" He asked.

"I took 600mg of ibuprofen." She stated very plainly. She knew he would probably challenge that, but she gave him a look to tell him she clearly wasn't interested in debating the issue.

He just nodded and reached into a drawer to pull out a set of medical scissors. He carefully unwrapped the ace bandages off of the bulky dressing and then gave her a glance to make sure she wasn't in pain. Her brow was slightly furrowed, but she seemed okay, so he continued.

He picked up the scissors and began to cut the layer of tape that was beneath the ace bandage. As he was finishing up with the cutting, Booth knocked on the door, but didn't wait to be acknowledged. He just walked in. "Hey Bones," he said. Once he saw that she was okay, he nodded at Marc. "Morning Marc." He finished.

Marc returned the nod but returned to work and Booth walked over to Brennan placing a hand on her shoulder. She seemed to be slightly uncomfortable, but it didn't appear that Marc needed to be shot yet either. He caught her eyes and mouth, "Okay?" to her.

She responded with a simple nod, closed her eyes, and let her head go back to lean against the chaise.

In just a few minutes, Marc finished with the tape and gently pulled the cottony dressings away from her leg.

Over the 3 years of working with the squints, Booth had learned to stifle the nauseous feeling he got when he saw some of the more grotesque corpses. Today, what he saw, he wasn't able to stifle the feeling and had to bite back some bile from rising in his throat. Brennan's ankle looked worse than before the surgery. It was almost completely black as well as swollen. He took a deep breath and shifted into protection mode. "Shouldn't her leg look better than that by now?" He directed his question toward Marc.

Marc gently picked up the ankle and took a better look. "Well," he partially squinted as he spoke. "The bruising is very extensive compared to what you normally see, but she had a lot of surgery. " He explained. "It takes a while for the tissue to repair itself. It's not abnormal for us to still see bruising when hard casts come out and even when the pins are removed." He knew that Brennan knew that. He was speaking directly to the FBI Agent.

Marc recorded a few observations on her chart and then quickly directed his attention back to her. "Alright, Temperance, I'm going to test a little and then we'll do the electro therapy. I'm going to put the electrodes directly on some of your injured spots today, while the cast is off, to try and relieve some of your pain." He explained. "Are you ready?"

She gave him a nod of approval and he started. He asked her to raise her ankle off of the table to see if her muscles were holding up well enough to support it. She did so without much struggle. She assumed that she wasn't able to hold for as long as she would healthy or even sore, but she was at least successful at the small task.

What came next was the hard part. He took her foot and asked her to press. She managed a flinch and to apply some pressure, but nothing more than the pressure of a touch. He then asked her to rotate her ankle. That part, hurt like hell and she tried to push through the pain to make a circle with her foot, but couldn't do it. While she knew she probably wouldn't be successful, she gritted her teeth and pushed as hard as she could, making her face turn red.

The men obviously noticed her pain coupled with the determination to complete the task, but they reacted in completely different ways. Booth, who was situated on her right, grabbed her right hand with his right hand and used his left hand to rub comforting circles on her back.

Marc, who was certainly not as intimate with the anthropologist (however, he certainly wouldn't mind it), took another, more clinical approach. "Temperance, you can go ahead and stop. It was only to see the degree to which your range of motion has improved. I didn't expect you to be able to finish." He spoke in a comforting tone and removed his hand from her mangled foot.

She just nodded at him and relaxed her foot. She exhaled the breath she had been holding while she tried to complete the task. She turned to look at Booth, who, of course was staring at her. He mouthed a simple "Okay?" to her and she gave him simple nod.

Marc finished up with his testing and measurements and then started on the electrotherapy. By this point, Brennan had been using the machine for a week and was proficient at managing to control the pain during the cycles. Marc hooked up the nodes and she simply sat back on the chaise and closed her eyes. She concentrated on mindless tasks while she waited for the pulses to pass. Marc did attach to the nodes to some muscles directly above her ankle and at the points of her damaged ligaments. The pulsing hurt as it forced her damaged ligaments to move, but it was a short cycle.

When Marc clicked off the machine, she was slightly surprised. Her ankle wasn't throbbing. It actually felt a little better. If that helped that much, she wondered what it would be like if she could use that every day. She wouldn't know the answer to that one though. She checked her watch. It was approaching 8:30 and she had an appointment with Dr. Jameson at 9:15. Marc grabbed the ice pack he had sitting on the counter and placed it on her ankle. "Just sit still for a few minutes okay?" He said as he put a padded wedge under her foot. She didn't hesitate to comply.

Marc was working to record a few things on her chart and she and Booth talked quietly about how excited Parker was to get to turn in his project. A few minutes later, Marc spoke again. "Alright, I'm done with you. Jameson will want to look at these." He said as he tucked a few forms into a manila folder for her. "You can stay here for a few more minutes if you want to. Let that ice help some." He offered.

She didn't waste time. She pulled the ice pack off and sat it to the side indicating that she was ready to go. Marc and Booth simultaneously rolled their eyes and Marc picked up the ankle brace she had used at the start of this entire drama. "Honestly, I think you're too swollen to try this one. I'm just going to wrap it tightly and let you go with that." He said.

She just nodded and allowed him to begin wrapping the ace bandage onto her ankle. "Temperance, I don't think you are quite ready to increase to everyday yet. We need to give your joint more time to rest and heal. I'm going to let Jameson decide when you need to start coming every day. I'll just see you on Wednesday." He donned a big grin as he said that and Booth noticed.

Booth jumped into the conversation. "We'll be here, Marc."

Brennan didn't notice the smile, so she didn't think anything of Booth's comment. She just relaxed and let Marc work.

Marc finished quickly and she and Booth hurried out.

****

The pair made their way into Dr. Jameson's orthopedic practice 5 minutes before her scheduled appointment time. She was surprised when she came in that the receptionist told her to go ahead and come back. "Jameson has a room ready for you," she explained. "He said he left a folder in there for you to read instead of sitting in the waiting room." Brennan looked at Booth and then gave the receptionist an inquisitive expression. "I'm not sure what it is, but a nurse will come and get you when they're ready for you in x-ray."

They walked back with Booth holding the doors, as usual. As they headed toward the exam room, Jameson walked out of a nearby door and was putting a chart in the file holder. "Oh, Temperance, Agent Booth, it's good to see you." He smiled and reached out to shake Booth's hand. "Temperance, I left the file containing the case study of your mechanism of injury in your exam room. Are you up to reading it while you wait?" He asked.

Booth noticed that his Bones got that squinty look she always got when he first mentioned a new case. He just smiled at the expression.

"I'd enjoy looking at it and reading the report from the surgery. I'll look at it right now," she said.

Jameson patted her on the shoulder as he walked passed. "Thank you. It'll just be a little while before I have the nurse take you to x-ray," he said.

Booth held the door and was surprised when Brennan grabbed the folder and sat in one of the chairs instead of on the exam table. Booth couldn't let her do that. It wasn't the best for her. "Bones, you need to get up on the table and elevate your ankle. You've already been up too much today." He knew he was being overbearing, but if she wouldn't take care of herself, he'd do it. It had only been 20 minutes since Marc told her she needed to keep it elevated for another week.

"Booth, I'm fine. I am not an invalid and I don't have a brain injury. I can think for myself. If I need you to write a procedure for how to take care of myself, I'll let you know," she said with acid in her voice. She couldn't help but be angry with Booth when she noticed that her words had elicited a smile instead of striking fear in him.

Booth allowed a grin to grow on his face. This was really the first time since she hurt herself that she let him have it full force. She had scolded him, but never with her normal tenacity. His Bones was back in full force and he was happy.

Brennan took out the file Jameson had left and began to read. She was impressed by the detail in his work and was pleased that he was responsible for her recovery. He was certainly a competent orthopedic surgeon. She studied the x-rays and diagrams and was a little taken by the severity of her injury. She had seen the MRI and films, but looking at the actual surgical images was a little nauseating.

She was so focused that she didn't even notice what Booth was doing. A few minutes later, he let out an excited yes, causing her to jump out of her scientific stupor. She managed to stifle the wince at the sudden movement and was thankful he didn't notice. "Booth, what on earth are you doing?" She asked, her voice still sour.

"Oh, sorry Bones, but have you ever seen this?" He asked, sounding like a kid at Christmas. "It's Frogger and I just got it on my phone. It's an old arcade game. I used to love it." He was shoving his cell phone into her face as he spoke.

She was a little aggravated at being interrupted, but opted to humor him. After a few seconds of watching, she asked the essential question. "What's the point, Booth?" She looked at him with those skeptic eyes.

Booth just shook his head. "See, you have to get the frog across the street before he gets run over by a truck." He explained very matter-of-factly. Surely, she had figured out the goal after watching for a few seconds. She was a genius after all.

"No, Booth." She said a little harshly. "I get that, but what's the point?" She asked again.

He just laughed and shook his head. "Bones, it's a video game. It's mindless but entertaining. Frogger is a classic. It's just fun."

He was surprised that she just nodded and turned back to her folder. He expected some anthropological explanation about why video games were bad for society.

In truth, Brennan was beginning to learn that not all things had to be purposeful. Maybe there were some things that are just enjoyable without being purposeful.

****

Another 15 minutes passed and Brennan was almost done reviewing the file when the nurse knocked on the door. "Temperance?" She asked as she popped her head in.

"Yes?" Brennan answered simply.

The nurse entered the room fully and opened up her chart. "They are ready for you in x-ray," she stated and began to hand Brennan the crutches. At that point, she noticed that Brennan's ankle was wrapped. "I'll help you onto the table in x-ray and then take that off of you." She explained as she offered the crutches. "Your boyfriend can stay in here or come with us if he wants." She looked to Booth.

Brennan was surprised when Booth didn't immediately offer a protest at being referred to as her boyfriend. She opted to explain herself. "This is my partner, Seeley Booth," she explained. "Booth, you can stay in here and play Froggie if you want."

Booth rolled his eyes. "First, I'm coming and second, it's Frogger. No one would play a game called Froggie, Bones." He laughed at her a little and then placed his hand back on her back as they walked out of the exam room.

Once in x-ray, the nurse helped Brennan up onto the table and helped her get a little more comfortable before starting to take off the wrap. "You know, you really should keep that elevated. I know you were only in that room for 30 minutes, but keeping it elevated as much as possible will help get rid of some of this swelling." She explained.

Brennan rolled her eyes at the glaring Booth who was sporting an 'I told you so' look. The nurse finished up and took a few digital pictures for Brennan's file. "Swelling's still persistent," she said. "Bruising is hopefully at a maximum at this point, but it's going to take months for all of those to fade." Brennan knew that was true. Her lower leg was practically black from mid shin to toes. 'At least the cast will hide that,' she thought to herself.

The nurse put the leaded apron on her and placed her ankle for the images and walked away. The x-ray process went quickly and Brennan managed to control her pain effectively during the stress views. Booth could tell that she was hurting. Her brow was furrowed and she was sweating slightly. The nurse saw how he looked at her as she was walking toward her to change the angle of her ankle for a different view. "She's tough," she commented. "She'll be fine in a few months." She said, reassuring Booth. Booth nodded and flashed a simple smile.

A few minutes later, they were finished with the x-rays, and while uncomfortable, the pain was not so intense that Brennan couldn't function. For that, she was thankful. Soon, she was resituated in the exam room. This time, though, she was on the exam table, her ankle elevated with ice.

She was working to relax, eyes closed, when she noticed that Booth was not playing that obnoxious video game. She cracked open one eye to find him flipping through the file Jameson had left. "Booth, what are you doing?" She asked as she shifted to get a better look.

"Oh, I was just trying to see if I could make any sense out of all this squintanese." He laughed as he said it. It was now going to be a goal to come up with as many different names for squint speech as he could. 'That will really bug her,' he thought and it brought a smile to his face just thinking about the rise he would get out of her.

She glared at him as he used a ridiculous word in reference to technical jargon. The glare was ineffective and he just smiled. That infuriated her, but she couldn't really be mad when he looked so darn hot with that smile on his face. She just sighed and said, "It's just all the records and case study information that Jameson will be using in his paper-'Mechanism of Injury: Combined Third Degree Syndesmotic and Lateral Ankle Sprains.' He's submitting it to a couple of journals for publication." She explained. "I'm really impressed that he has it together so soon." That fact actually made think very highly of her doctor.

Booth pulled his chair closer to her and took another look at her ankle. Honestly, if he could, he'd take the injury for her. He would rather hurt himself than see her hurt. He took another glance at the images of her bones in the folder. He couldn't tell much, but it looked awful. One image showed her pristine, white bones with two screw heads poking out. In his opinion, nothing like that should ever have to be done to his Bones. Another picture showed one of her ligaments that had been stapled back to the bone. He focused on that one for a few minutes. "Bones, I'm really sorry this happened to you. I know you hate this." He was truly genuine and she could tell. He immediately shifted his eyes back to the folder.

At his comment, Brennan smiled and said "Thanks, Booth." She then decided to try to lighten the guilt he was bearing by making a joke. "You know, I read that amputation is the preferred treatment for some animals with a similar injury." She commented and was surprised when he didn't laugh. He never took his eyes off of the pictures. She noticed that Booth was apparently focused on a couple of them. She decided she better explain some things to him before he let the images paint the wrong picture in his mind.

"Let me show you what all of those pictures show. First off, it's not that bad, they're magnified quite a bit." She continued by showing Booth the pictures and how they had corrected the problem. He felt much better after hearing her explanation and was at least reassured because she had confidence in her doctor.

There was a short silence before Jameson rapped on the door. He entered quickly and as the previous visits, clipped several x-rays onto the light boards. He then took a seat on the stool beside her and took out her chart. "How have the last few days treated you, Temperance?" He asked.

She began with her clinical explanation. "I really began to feel more typical on Thursday and Friday. I took the Lortab consistently until Thursday morning. Thursday through Saturday I was able to manage by just taking Advil during the day. Yesterday, however, I took more of the Lortab. I was rather sore from the previous day and the achiness didn't subside with just Advil." She explained and Booth began to feel guilty. She had spent all Friday night and Saturday out with him. He should have helped Parker alone and then she wouldn't have been in any pain.

Booth decided he needed to be proactive and jumped in as soon as she stopped to take a breath. "Her crutches are too low," he said. "Could you adjust them for her?" He demanded more than asked.

Jameson just laughed and nodded at Booth. "I will check them before you leave." He answered Booth but focused quickly back on his patient. "Temperance, has your stomach shown any signs of irritation from the increase in medication?"

She sighed, "Yesterday, I felt a little off after taking a couple of doses without food. It was over fairly quickly though." She explained.

"Just be careful," he stated. "Too much medicine can mess with your stomach lining. There isn't much I can do about it, however. At this point, you are going to have to be on Tylenol or Advil, minimum. I am going to switch you to Vicodin. It gets out of the system a little bit quicker and will be better for you when you go back to work."

Brennan was about to question or protest when Booth started laughing. She glared at him, but he didn't stop. "Booth? What is the problem?" She asked in her most irritated tone.

He was still laughing but managed to speak. "Nothing Bones, it's just that I've had Vicodin before. It makes furniture feel really friendly. You'll like it." He explained, still laughing.

She just rolled her eyes at him again and focused back on Jameson and the when statement he had just made. "I am planning on going back to work today." She said sternly. "You didn't have other intentions did you?" She asked in a rhetorical manner.

Jameson raised an eyebrow at her as if challenging her. "Temperance, you still have way too much swelling to be up and about. Honestly, if I felt that you would be able to do desk work or could manage to keep you leg elevated for at least 50 percent of the work day then go home and stay off it for the rest of the evening, I would release you. However, I'm not sure that you would be able to manage that so I'm not writing you back into work until next Monday." He explained and the look on his face dared her to be defiant.

Booth felt sorry for her and was pretty sure he had never seen her pout before now. He had to help her out some. "Dr. Jameson, what if I told you that I had an inside connection who would limit Dr. Brennan's work to only one hour interval at the platform at all times? She would of course be sitting the entire time though. The remainder of the work day would be spent in her office on the couch working only on her laptop." He stated very succinctly, almost as if he had considered it before.

Much to his surprise, it wasn't Jameson that objected, it was Brennan. "Booth! There is no way you are going to have Cam make me stay off the platform. I'm behind already and another week will make me have to work 20 hour days for the next month."

"Bones, I'm not talking about Cam. She honestly has no control over you. Angela, on the other hand, will keep you in check." He gave her a goofy sideways grin.

Brennan sighed and dropped her shoulders. The gesture made Jameson laugh. She looked like she had been told by her parents that her goldfish died. Her expression was enough to reassure him that her protector would make sure that she followed orders.

"I suppose that if you manage to stay off the ankle and keep it elevated for at least 50 percent of the time _minimum_, then you could go ahead and go back to work. " He stated. "Temperance, please follow the advice. Honestly, I would have like to see more of a reduction in the swelling, but the only way that is going to happen is if you keep it elevated. Can you understand my dilemma?" He asked.

She quietly nodded. She knew the principles and concepts that concerned him. It was very important for the healing of a sprain for a person to get passed the inflammation stage. Clearly she wasn't there yet.

Jameson accepted her nod and continued. "Bruising is still extensive, but I would expect you won't be bruise-free for quite a while. It's nothing to worry about," he reassured her. "Your x-rays look good. The diastasis is completely gone. Your range of motion is only at about 5 percent per the testing Marc did this morning. The swelling is probably part of the source of that." He explained and they went over a few of the x-rays together and he did a few manipulations of her ankle. He was pretty gentle and she was grateful for that. "Overall, I'm pleased with your progress despite the swelling. It will just take some time to go down." He finished up.

He took just a few minutes to document a few things in her chart. "Alright now, I'm finished up, we just need to get you casted. I'm going to put you in one today, but I want to see you mid next week to recheck swelling and put on a new cast." He told her. "At that point, I'll look at bumping your physical therapy up to daily. Your ankle is just not ready for that much activity yet, just like Marc explained."

She wasn't surprised by the mention. She could tell that she was still extremely swollen and would probably need to be casted a couple of times to allow for the decrease in swelling. She nodded to him in understanding.

"Today, I'm going to use a typical fiberglass cast. If the swelling goes down enough, next week I'll put you in a waterproof cast. The outside of the one today is waterproof, but the lining is not. You just have to cover it when you bathe or shower," he informed her. "Do you have a preference as to color, Temperance?"

She thought for just a moment. "I would prefer if it were a dark color and it would be a little less noticeable with the darker jeans and slacks I tend to wear." She wanted to stay as inconspicuous as possible; the bad part was that the crutches were an immediate indicator as to her injury.

Booth laughed at her reasoning. 'Leave it to Bones to always be logical,' he thought.

Jameson nodded at her choice of color and wanted to finish up. "Let's get you up so I can adjust your crutches and we'll get you casted and on your way."

He helped her stand and had Booth stand beside her as they worked to raise the crutches to exactly the right height. As Booth had predicted, they were about 3 inches too low, putting unnecessary stress on her back and shoulders.

"Temperance, I'm going to send the nurse back in later with some pads to put on the tops of the crutches. It will kill you shoulders and upper arms after a while. In some patients we can even see blistering from the rubber tops." He explained.

He helped her back up onto the table and stepped out. Just a few minutes later, he and a nurse returned with all the supplies on a cart for the cast. Brennan was thankful that he had brought the supplies to put on a navy blue cast. At least Angela wouldn't give her a hard time about writing on it if it was navy.

About an hour later, it was 11:15 and the pair was finally able to leave the orthopedic surgeons office. Brennan was armed with the necessary paper work to be allowed back into the lab, a new prescription for a low dosage of Vicodin, a navy cast, and a new enemy-bright orange pads for the top of her crutches.

"Bones, they aren't that bad." Booth said as he laughed at her obviously self conscious mannerisms. "It's better than having blisters on your arms from the top of the crutches," he reasoned with her.

Brennan just shook her head at her partner. It had to be some kind of cruel joke. She does her best to keep attention to a minimum and she ends up with pads that would show up for air traffic control. "I know it's irrational Booth, but, the color will just draw more attention to me," she said with a pouty face.

"Aww, come on Bones, you don't have to have orange crutch covers for people to want to look at you. There are plenty of other reasons for that." He stated very definitively as he threw an arm over her shoulder.

She gave him a stunned look. 'Did he just imply that I'm hot?' she thought to herself.

"Come on Bones, I'll take you to the diner and buy you a piece of pie before I drop you at the lab."

She gave him a little bump since her hands weren't free to pop him. "Booth, you know I don't like my fruit cooked," she retorted. "However, I will let you buy me a milkshake."

With that, the pair loaded into the SUV to actually begin their day. Both of them smiled that they would be getting to work together again. It was the first step toward becoming partners again.


	45. Back at the Lab

**A/N -- Thanks so much to MickeyBoggs and blc for prereading, editing, and making sure that I'm not writing junk. I worry too much about that and you guys keep me in check.**

**Sorry for the wait on this one. I hope to get another one up in just a couple of days. **

**Thanks so much for all the great reviews. I'm glad you are enjoying the story. I hope I am still keeping it in character. Out of character fics are a peeve of mine. **

**Please continue to review and giving me the help / ideas. I appreciate it.**

Disclaimer - Bones is property of Fox.

Chapter 45

"Someone's feeling better than when I saw her yesterday," Angela said as she, Cam, and Hodgins stood on the platform looking, yet again at the remains of Abigail Harmon. Cam and Hodgins just smiled in acknowledgment as the bickering pair approached the platform.

"Booth, I certainly don't need a babysitter and I know that it's impossible for you to get security to put a timer on my access badge to the platform." Brennan fussed at Booth. "Besides, even if it were possible, which it's not, it's completely irrational. If I wanted to work around that, I could just access the platform and not leave. An alarm doesn't sound when you walk off." She explained.

He shook his head and fussed right back. "Bones, Bones, Bones? When are you ever going to learn not to question me? I have my ways and remember I can make the impossible happen. It's _Special Agent _Seeley Booth—_Special, _remember." He explained as he placed his hand on her elbow while she swiped her card to get onto the platform. At least rolling her eyes didn't require using her hands. She could at least do that if smacking him was a little cumbersome while trying to swipe her card and climb stairs.

The display before them made Angela, Cam, and Hodgins glance at each other and audibly laugh. The two most stubborn people in the world going at it with all they had, but yet the male of the pair still couldn't watch her struggle and gave her a supporting hand so she can complete a simple task. The more amusing part was that she allowed it.

The pair continued onto the platform. Brennan had to work to button her lab coat and Booth was always hovering, watching her like a teetering vase that could fall in any moment. He was prepared to catch her, to protect her if she made the slightest tilt. He wouldn't let her fall; after all, he let her fall at karate and look where that got them.

Brennan walked over to the table and noticed that the trio was snickering, eyes glued on her. "What?" she asked in an agitated tone.

Angela, the only one with enough guts to challenge the hardcore scientist, spoke up. "Nothing, Sweetie, we were just all thinking how the two of you are definitely the most brilliant crime-solving pair in the country, but yet you are so oblivious to other things. It's sweet really," she explained.

Brennan just glared at their grinning faces. "Angela, I have no idea what that means and I'm just ready to go back to work." The scientist sighed. The artist knew when to push and right now, her friend didn't want to be pushed.

Cam spoke up to help the anthropologist out a little. "It's good to have you back, Dr. Brennan," Cam said with a pleasant smile. "I've got your file on my desk. I do have to have a return to work recommendation from your doctor, though, before you can get back to work. Jeffersonian policy is that any absence 5 days or longer requires a doctor's note to be cleared for work again." She explained.

Brennan looked to Booth who immediately knew what to do and turned to sprint back to her office before Brennan even spoke. "Of course, Cam. Dr. Jameson gave me all the necessary paperwork. It's just in a folder on my desk. Booth's getting it."

Angela saw the window of opportunity and just had to jump through. "Bren, since when did our favorite G-Man become your personal assistant." Angela joked.

Hodgins laughed his goofy laugh. "It's true, Dr. B. You didn't even have to ask. I've tried paying 6 figure salaries to people and have never been able to find anyone that quick." He said jokingly.

Brennan shot both of them a stern look which did nothing to scare them, but they did both opt to stop the joking as they could see Booth exiting her office and briskly walk back toward the platform. Angela came over and hugged her friend. "I'm glad you're back, Bren. I missed you," she said as she rubbed her friend's back.

Brennan appreciated the comfort her friend offered, but didn't want to appear overly emotional. She had to say something. "Angela, that's irrational, I just saw you yesterday." She hoped that would remind everyone that she didn't want their sympathy. She just wanted to work. She did, however, hug her friend back tightly. She did know what Angela meant. Anytime a member of their team was out, there was a strange feeling around the lab. Just like Booth said in the church after the whole Grave Digger ordeal, "It's all of us." Take one member of the team out and everyone suffered. Brennan understood that even if she couldn't understand love or emotion.

Booth came walking back onto the platform and broke up the girly moment. "Alright, squints—I hold in my hands, your new mission in life. It is your job," he said while pointing at Angela, Hodgins, and Cam. "To allow the good doctor here on the platform for no more than 1 hour at a time."" he explained. "She is, and I quote, to limit physical work to one hour intervals not to exceed 50% of the total work day. Total work day should not exceed 9 hours." He finished reading the paper and handed it to Cam as a very pouty-faced Brennan looked on.

Hodgins decided to join the conversation again. "Dr. B, it's good to see you back," he said as he gave her a light kiss on the cheek and then turned to address Booth. "Don't worry Agent Protective; I've got some adhesive polymers that will glue her to a chair for a week if Dr. B won't behave."

Booth nodded proudly. He didn't even need to threaten to shoot anyone. They understood. "Good squint," he remarked and began to rub jacks curly mop of hair. Clearly, the scientist didn't appreciate the gesture and backhanded the agent in the stomach. 'Man,' Booth thought. 'We've come a long way in the years we worked together. A couple of years ago, he wouldn't have had the guts to do that.' He backed away and gave Hodgins a nod.

Brennan was now glaring at the entomologist. She'd remind him later that he was back at work the night after they were rescued from the Gravedigger. 'I didn't filet him with a knife to have him jump to Booth's side about protecting me,' she thought. She was only partially serious, she wouldn't really confront Hodgins about the situation, but it did cause her to roll her eyes and let out a sigh.

Booth looked at his watch and realized it was now 12:30. "I've got to be at the Hoover in 30 minutes to interrogate the boyfriend. You should be all set Bones," he said as he turned to walk briskly out of the lab. As he reached the bottom step of the platform he turned around. "Oh yeah, Bones, that paper says no driving until after your next appointment. I'll pick you up at 5:30."

Brennan looked at Booth and let out an exasperated sigh. Hodgins and Cam conveniently pretended to ignore it and looked at the bones again, but Angela walked back over to her as soon as she saw the FBI Agent clear the sliding doors to leave the lab. She smiled as she saw him throw one glance back at his partner. She placed her arm around her friend's shoulders. "It's not prison, Sweetie. He's just trying to take care of you," she explained while rubbing her back. "I know you are oblivious to his feelings and sometimes even yours, but he doesn't want to see you hurting and he wants you to get better so that Agent Blondie-locks can get out of your seat in the Sequoia." She said with a little smirk.

Brennan just sighed again and nodded before clicking over to the exam table. She leaned on her crutches, popped on a pair of gloves, and picked up a bone. She concentrated for a few minutes and Angela and Cam exited to work on other things. Just a few minutes later, she felt a rolling stool being slid into the back of her thighs. "Here, Dr. B," Hodgins said. "In all seriousness, you just let me know what you need. Crutches can be a pest," he said as he grabbed hers and leaned them against the rail of the platform. He snickered a little when he stepped away. "Nice crutch pads, Dr. B. I never pegged you as being a fan of the punk rock colors."

"I don't know what that means, but did you swab any of the bones for elemental trace?" She asked, pretending to ignore his remark about the obnoxious bright orange crutch toppers.

He nodded and looked over her shoulder some. "I did, but I didn't really know where to start. I swabbed the hyoid, the hands, the mandible, and the maxilla. I even swabbed the vomer when I came up empty with those, but I didn't get squat." He explained.

"Okay," she said. "I'll let you know if I need any others swabbed. I'm hoping that since we didn't have to remove the flesh from the bones that some of whatever killed her will still be here. I just have to find it." She gave the bones that squinty look and Hodgins knew it was time to back away and let her do the hard part.

Hodgins thought for a few seconds and decided to ask one more question before leaving her to her work. "You're leaning toward poison?" he asked.

"I am, but I've got to run some tests on the bones to make sure nothing long term was present. You're checking the hair, correct?" She hoped she had remembered to mention that earlier. Last week was a little fuzzy.

Hodgins nodded. "I did and my initial tests came up empty for lead and all other heavy metals." He walked over to the computer and pulled up a report. "I'm going to rerun, but I don't know that the results will be different," he finished.

"Thanks, Jack. I'll let you know what else I find," she said and the entomologist nodded and started to walk off.

As he neared the edge of the platform, she called his name in a softer, less scientific tone than she normally used. "Jack," she turned on the stool toward him as she called his name.

"Dr. B," he responded simply and walked back over to her.

"I feel that you are one of the few people that I know that have had a similar injury to mine. Booth had both of his feet broken when he was in the military, but it was a different context and he was basically much more severe than what I'm experiencing. Plus, he doesn't like to talk about it." She was rambling before she could even get to her question.

He interrupted her to try to calm down her rambling. It actually made him a little nervous to see her so nervous. "Dr. B, not to cut you off, but are you okay? You're rambling a little." He was compassionate and not rude at all.

She shook her head. "Sorry, I am just a little off my play with all of this. I was just wondering how long it took for your leg to feel like it belonged to you again after you were hurt." She asked. She chose not to mention the context of his injury. He knew what she was referring to.

Jack chuckled a little which confused her; she considered it a serious event and assumed he felt the same way. She didn't expect him to laugh about his injury. "First, Dr. B., it's off your game, not off your play." He stated --now she at least understood why he laughed.

He set back to answering her question after he corrected her. "Um," he stalled as he thought. "It was about a month before I could really move without that twinging pain being there." He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Then, once they let me bear some weight it was like the pain started all over. I didn't have to go through all the PT you are going to need though since no soft tissue was involved. I can't help you with that. I can tell you that it was about a year before I could comfortably run a couple of miles without feeling it afterwards. Sometimes, it still hurts a little even now." He finished.

"Damn soft tissue," she stated dryly making Hodgins laugh. "Thanks Jack." She was genuine in her gratitude for the short talk.

"Sure, Dr. B, anytime." He said as he pulled his hand from her shoulder and placed another simple kiss of friendship on her cheek. "I don't say it enough, but thanks for what you did for me down there. You are an amazing person and your determination is inspiring." With that, he began to walk away.

She gave him a simple nod and noticed the lump forming in her throat. The conversation was finished, but she was glad they'd had it. She and Jack had a special bond because of the Gravedigger. She'd told him so many things down there. She wasn't sure how much he remembered because of his pain level at the time, but he understood her and allowed her to be who she was, requiring no facade. He, Booth, and Angela were the only ones to ever reach that level with her.

Brennan worked with the bones for the next hour. She found very few anomalies, but was able to take a few magnified photographs of a couple of regions of slight anomalies that she could look at with more detail when, or if, someone actually had the nerve to force her out of the lab and into her office later.

As if on cue, at 1:35, she heard Angela's heels clicking on the platform. "Sweetie," she called from behind. "Time's up, Bren. Booth'll kill me if I don't get you off the platform." She stated in a slightly uncommon tone. "He just texted me anyway. He said he was in an interrogation and couldn't call you." As she finished the statement, there was a slight whining tone in her voice. Clearly, she wasn't usually on the receiving end of Booth's nagging and now understood why Brennan got frustrated. Truly, it was hot, but an independent person like her friend didn't enjoy the display. She smiled at her friend to try and keep her from sensing her mood and handed Brennan her crutches.

Brennan grabbed the crutches very sharply in protest, but stood to go back to her office. "I am only agreeing to this because I know the impact excessive swelling can have on healing. Booth can think it's his idea for me to follow doctor's orders, but I'm quite kinesthetically aware. I know when I need to rest." She had given up protesting, but had decided that she was doing this of her own accord and not because Booth was the one making her stop.

As they walked back to her office, Angela decided to ask the question hanging over her head. It was vitally important, after all. "So, Bren, did you decide to get a dark cast so that I couldn't write on it?"

Brennan just laughed. Her best friend was pretty smart when it came to reading her, but she had to deny it. "No, I just figured it's practical since I usually wear darker colored pants."

Angela laughed and pulled something out of her pocket. "That's good, Bren. I figured you might go that route, so I found these new markers called Bright Sticks that write on dark surfaces. They're not waterproof, though, so they will wash off. Doesn't matter though since you can't get the cast wet." She smiled at the way she had out smarted the genius.

'Crap,' Brennan thought. She knew when she was defeated and she would have to let them write on her cast. 'At least I'm getting a new one next week. Hopefully it would be a waterproof one and the markers wouldn't work any longer.'

Angela held the door as entered her office. "Bren!" Angela scolded as she watched her friend head toward her desk. "You have to sit on the couch." She demanded.

Brennan shook her head. "Fine, but don't think I'm not going to take advantage of you while you make me sit here," she quipped. "Bring me my purse so I can take some Advil and you can get me some coffee too," she said with an attitude. If they were going to treat her like a child, she'd make things hard on them.

Angela just smiled. She was more than happy to help her friend. "Alright, Bren, but when I get back, I'm signing your cast. Good thing it's fall and we ordered you a lot of new slacks. Wouldn't want any innocent eyes seeing what I'm going to write." The artist smirked and Brennan just shook her head.

Brennan opened her laptop and went back to work. She was half-laughing, half-frustrated at her entire situation. What she didn't understand was that Angela, Booth, Hodgins, and, to an extent even Cam, wanted to do these things for her. She wasn't a burden. She was loved. Maybe one day, the rational scientist would realize and believe that for the first time in almost two decades.


	46. Someday Soon

**A/N - Sorry for such a long wait on this one. The creative juices just weren't flowing like I wanted them too. Hopefully now, I'm back on track. I won't be daily again until summer, but maybe I can get more than 1 a week out again soon. I certainly enjoy writing and hope that you guys enjoy reading it. **

**This chapter is a little bit of a transition and a little shorter than I usually put out. I'm trying to get worked up to some of the more exciting things that I have planned. For those of you that asked, I am planning on getting Booth and Brennan together, but the timing has to be right. **

**Thank you all for your wonderful reviews for this and my other story. I'm flattered at all the comments. Please continue to give me your ideas and feedback. It really does help get things moving.**

**Thanks to mickeyboggs for proofing this and blc for her general wisdom in the Bones character realm. I appreciate it.**

**Enjoy!**

Disclaimer - Bones belongs to Fox Broadcasting.

Chapter 46

The next few days passed rather slowly for Booth and Brennan. Brennan hoped that she would be able to solve the case of Abigail Harmon on her first day back, but things didn't go as expected. She didn't handle slow progress very well, but she knew she would eventually see that which was hidden from sight. She always did.

Likewise, Booth hoped that interviewing the boyfriend would provide him with a smoking gun but that just didn't happen. The boyfriend, John Allen, was as clean as a whistle.

Booth had done the interrogation alone since he was utterly disgusted at Nichols. His background checks and financial records were clean so he had nothing to go on. Booth prided himself in reading people and through his conversations with the young man he knew he truly loved Abigail. He piled on the questions pretty hard at first, accusing him of cheating on her, using her, and any other type relationship faux pas he could think of. He finally broke the man and was surprised when he pulled a small white box out of his pocket. "I never told her how much I truly loved her, but I had planned on giving her this on her birthday and asking her to marry me." He explained as tears rolled down his cheeks. "I will regret not telling her every day for the rest of my life. I've started to live again, but I will always love her." He placed the box on the table and Booth opened it.

"It's a nice ring," he said as he closed the box and slid it back to the young man. He was surprised when the young man stopped him half way across the table.

"You guys have her body, correct?" He inquired and received an inquisitive nod from Booth. John took a deep breath and said, "Can you make sure that is put with her remains. It belongs with her, not me." He finished and took a few cleansing breaths to gather enough composure to finish what he assumed would be a rough interrogation.

At that point, Booth knew that he was innocent and took it easy on the young man for the final few minutes. He was able to get him to provide an alternate suspect - Abigail's sister.

John explained that she was vengeful and jealous of her younger, prettier, and more popular sister. He even explained that he and some of their friends, and even her older brother, felt that her sister, Andrea, had caused Abigail to get bucked from her horse, causing the pelvic injury Brennan had found on the initial x-rays. Booth took down some more information and let John leave.

That was as far as the investigation went. He had to talk to the sister but without a real piece of evidence or more than hearsay motive he figured it would be best to wait. The ball was now completely in Brennan's court, even if she didn't know what that expression meant.

That's where Booth found himself that Friday afternoon waiting on her to come up with something to give him direction. He finished up some paperwork and headed out of his office for the weekend. He laughed as he passed by the bull pen on the way out. Nichols had been fairly well-behaved. She'd taken care of pulling all financials and communicating with the evidence techs about the case. He, however, handled all communications with the lab and Caroline. He was sure she'd eventually screw something up, but for now, they could exist in a completely platonic, email heavy partnership.

Over the last four days, he had done his best to take care of his Bones, driving her to and from work or therapy. Angela had pitched in to help some, including that morning since Booth had a meeting at the Hoover with the deputy director. He made sure she ate by texting Angela and Cam and intimidating Hodgins to the best of his ability.

As much as Brennan hated to admit it, the regimen she was forced to comply with was helping her. Her swelling was finally going down, she was relying only on Advil and Tylenol. Also, her therapy was getting less painful with every visit. She would never admit it out loud, but she was thankful that Booth provided her an excuse to slow down a little.

Booth waltzed into the lab around 6:00 to pick her up. He was a little later than usual, but figured an extra 30 minutes of work wouldn't do her any harm since the weekend was coming up. She had already conceded that unless something really required her expertise, she wouldn't work over the weekend. She grumbled a little when he first brought it up that she was already behind an extra 10 sets of Limbo remains, but she hadn't put up much of a fight.

He checked her office, the platform, and bone room but didn't find her. He decided to check one final place before calling her cell phone—Angela's office. That's where he found her, staring at the Angelator. He was slightly surprised that she was sitting in a chair with her cast in another. He figured she'd have some squinty reason why she couldn't look at the hologram from an angle. "Evening ladies," he said.

"Evening, Agent Heart Throb," Angela responded and he greeted her with the usual eye roll.

Brennan, however, didn't speak. It concerned him at first, so he walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. This helped her snap out of her squinty gaze. "Hi," she said and gave him a slight wave. She inwardly cursed herself, _'Why does he always make me do things a 7__th__ grader would do?' _Even in middle school, a guy hadn't been able to make her give those stupid little waves, but somehow, Booth was able to do things no other person could do, both with her heart and in crime fighting.

Booth gave her back an equally middle school appearing grin. "You aren't hurting are you?" He questioned.

She shook her head, "No, just a little tired. Therapy was more intensive than normal today and I didn't sleep well last night." She explained and refocused her attention on the Angelator.

Booth looked for a minute and couldn't quite discern what was going on, so he asked. "What exactly do we have here?"

At that moment, Brennan shifted slightly and Booth caught the first real glimpse of her cast that she had allowed since he dropped her off on Monday. She had been careful to keep her pants covering it since it was put on, but she knew eventually, she'd have to show Booth what was written on it. Booth smiled at the neon colors and made a mental note to interrogate her about it later.

Angela saw the looks the two of them passed, but decided to go ahead and explain what they were looking at to Booth. "Okay, so Brennan seems to think that there is more to the victim's old pelvic injury than was originally said."

Brennan chimed in. "Looking at the x-rays and the way her pelvis fractured, it would require more force than falling from the height of her horse," she explained.

Booth looked on as Angela ran the reenactment. "What if the horse was standing on two legs at the time?" he asked.

Angela didn't speak, just adjusted the scenario and ran it again. "Still not enough force," Brennan said.

"What would cause it?" Booth asked, obviously flummoxed at the scenario before him.

Brennan squinted at the hologram. "Angela run the force is she were pulled off of the horse."

Angela just nodded and went back to work on her tablet. Brennan craned her neck slightly and Booth instinctively stepped behind her and began to rub her shoulders.

Angela looked on from a mere 5 feet away but she didn't comment. She just raised an eyebrow. '_Some things are better left unsaid.'_

A few minutes later, Angela had the scenario complete and called the partners' attention back. "Alright, here is the scenario if she were pulled down by a 190 pound man." The hologram came to life and Brennan again squinted.

Booth did his best to focus on the hologram and not the squinting Brennan. '_God, she's hot when she does that,_' he thought to himself.

She studied it for a moment before speaking. "That's entirely too much force. It would have broken the pelvis in more than just the 2 places."

Angela nodded, "Okay, here is the scenario with an average height person weighing approximately 130 pounds."

Brennan looked on and suddenly a light bulb went off in her head. She jumped up without thinking and put a slight amount of weight on her injured leg. She winced, but that didn't stop her. She grabbed her crutches and went out into the main lab, ascending the platform and plopping onto a stood. She took the pelvis and rolled up to one of the microscopes. "Angela!!" she yelled.

"What is it Sweetie?" she asked as she and Booth walked into the lab.

"Call Hodgins, I need him to dig some particulates out for me. I think I found cause of death," Brennan said without even looking up.

Angela did as instructed and turned to leave a she heard Booth say, "That's my girl."

She knew Brennan would kill her if she didn't hurry and call Hodgins, but just as some things are better left unsaid, some things have to be said. "Since when did she become your girl, Agent Possessive?"

"Angela," he said shaking his head. "She's always been my girl. She just doesn't know it yet."

Angela bit back her squeal and practically skipped to her office to call Hodgins.

***

Three hours later, Brennan and Booth were seated in their usual Booth at the diner. "Caroline's getting the warrant to check the sister's house?"

"Yeah, she said it might be early in the morning before we get it," he paused slightly. "Bones, you know you are a genius right?"

She gave him a strange look. "Of course I know that Booth. Technically, anyone with an IQ over 140, depending on the scale, is considered a genius." She started to elaborate further, but he cut her off.

"No, Bones, I know that, but there are 2 types of geniuses," he explained but was met by her puzzled eyes. "What I mean is, there are geniuses who are just that, geniuses and they don't do anything good with it. They sit there in their little labs, staring at pond scum and just hope that someday something they do might win them a Nobel Prize or something," he took a drink of his water. "Then there are geniuses like you, the best kind. You see that there is a purpose for your limitless intelligence and you use it for good, to help people. You go out into the world and make a difference, you don't just sit there and hope that the world notices what you are doing."

She met him again with confused eyes. "It doesn't matter to you that I don't know the difference in the "Wonder Days" and "Happy years?" she asked.

He just shook his head. "First of all Bones, it's "Wonder Years" and "Happy Days," both of which were great television shows, but I don't care anything about that," he explained. "It's actually kind of hot that you don't understand all that pop culture crap anyway. It means you're pure, you're genuine."

He face lit up like a light bulb at the obvious complement she just received. "Thanks Booth. I think you are genuine too. I don't know a person who is more devoted than you are." She thought about going on, but thought that her statement made sense. She was actually kind of nervous that if she elaborated further, she'd end up calling him stupid or demeaning him, even if that wasn't her intention.

"Thanks Bones," he said. "Hey, how's the leg right now?" He hated that he was taking advantage of a very serious moment, but he had to get some answers.

"It's a little sore. I've managed to keep the pain at a minimum, but I'm over due for a dose of Advil, but I don't want to take it now, it's best if I take it right before bed." She didn't want to admit that she had taken the meds too early last night, thus a poor night's sleep.

Booth withheld the smile trying to form on his face. "Here, I'll slide over and you can put it up in this chair. Maybe that'll help some." He then slid over to empty the chair directly across from her.

She gave him a slight nod and then used her hands to lift the huge cast into the chair. She had to admit, it was beginning to ache again and felt good to have it off the ground.

Just a few minutes later, the waitress brought their food and they set to eating. They quietly conversed about the week. Booth told her that Parker's simple machine presentation at school would be the Monday before Thanksgiving.

"Why so late?" she asked. "It's only October right now." Brennan didn't see the reason why they would put so much time between a due date and a presentation.

Booth just nodded and wiped his mouth. As usual, he finished eating way before his Bones. "Oh, something about reading testing and not having evening activities during that time."

Brennan just nodded and went back to eating.

Booth saw the window of opportunity and took it while she was distracted by her food. He reached into the seat beside him and gently slid her pants leg up. _'Thank goodness that cast is 3 inches thick. She didn't even feel me move her pants leg.' _He started reading what everyone had written.

He laughed as he saw all the signatures. '_Angela must have threatened everyone with blind dates if they didn't sign,' he thought. _He saw that Cam had signed a very simple, "Cam" on the ankle of the cast. A little further up he could recognize Hodgins' chicken scratch. "Dr. B, let me know when you are back to butt kicking b/c I want to watch." '_Me too,' _Booth thought and let out a giggle.

Right at the top of the cast he saw Angela's writing. It was overly girly and artistic. He used to lust after girls like her in school. Now he just lusted after Brennan. He was not prepared, however, for what he would read. "Bren, you know your knight in FBI body armor will give you a ride anytime. He is NOT standard issue. Studly is not just a state of mind, after all."

Booth, couldn't help it. He spewed coffee across the table, immediately alerting Brennan to what he was doing. She jumped slightly and knocked her leg onto the bar that held the table up. "Ouch, dammit," she yelped before taking a deep breath and saying, "Aww, come on Booth, that was a low blow. I thought you were really concerned that my leg hurt."

He was slightly embarrassed now. "Listen Bones, I'm sorry. I just wanted to see and don't think I hadn't noticed that you've been hiding what was on that cast from me all week."

"It's okay Booth, it's just embarrassing. Angela's just so incorrigible." She worked to put her leg back on the chair. Knocking it into the table was causing it to hurt a little.

"She may be incorrigible, but she's very observant." Booth noticed the shift in her attention and the manner in which she lifted her leg back up. "I'm really sorry Bones. I should have just asked you to let me see it," he gave her a set of puppy dog eyes as he spoke. "Now, let's get you home. You look tired."

She just nodded and he threw a few bills down onto the table. He needed to drop Brennan off at home so that he could call Nichols and get everything set up to search the sisters home. Everything had happened so quickly. Once Brennan figured out that the fractures were caused by pulling Abigail Harmon off the horse. During the Angelator scenario, she had noticed a small indentation in the fracture pattern that shouldn't have been there. Hodgins was easily able to pull particulates and find traces of a highly toxic poison that somehow remained on the bones.

After tracing the poison, they found it was used by exterminators when dealing with black widow spider infestations.

Just as John Allen had suspected, Booth surmised that the sister and her boyfriend were behind the whole thing. Her boyfriend, Jeffery Mathis worked as an industrial exterminator. That gave him access to the poison. Motive wasn't a sure thing yet, but hopefully that would come through interrogation. Caroline hadn't argued about it, they had plenty for a warrant. His Bones had provided what he needed.

Booth thought about what brought them to this point - depending on his Bones. They had struggled for quite a while on the case and finally his Bones gave them what they needed to get justice for Abigail Harmon and her family. Years ago, he would have hated to admit it, but today he was thankful for it. '_Scientists can solve crimes,'_ he thought to himself. He'd come a long way since he made the opposite statement in the shooting range that day. '_What a pair,' _he thought as he guided his Bones out of the diner to take her home. She already gives me what I need and some day, I'll be able to give her what she needs -- '_Someday soon,' _he hoped.


	47. The Bad Week

**A/N - Sorry guys for the radio silence on this story. I got wrapped up in real life and a few things online have had my interest captured a little more than this story. I am already working on the next chapter and hope to have it up in a few days. I will also be updating my other story Relieving the Pressure early in the week so be on the lookout for that. I assure you that while sometimes I may go a while without updating, I will finish anything I start.**

**Thank you so much for all your reviews and messages on this story. It's encouraging that 47 chapters later, so of you are still interested in the story.**

**Thanks to MickeyBoggs for proofing this for me. I appreciate all of her assistance.**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter. I know it ends in a cliffie and I promise I won't string you out for more than a few days. Please continue to let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer - Bones belongs to Fox Broadcasting. This story is just for fun.  
**

Chapter 47

As is always true with life, some weeks are wonderful and some weeks just plain stink. Booth and Brennan found themselves in the midst of an awful week. It was Wednesday and Brennan arrived at the lab after her appointment with Dr. Jameson. She was furious that despite following the ridiculous regimen Booth ordered everyone to make sure she adhered to, her swelling hadn't decreased enough nor had her range of motion increased enough to justify a less supportive cast. That meant another few days, minimum, in a heavy fiberglass cast that she couldn't get wet. "Damn it Booth, just drop me in front of the Jeffersonian. I'll be fine walking the 100 yards by myself," she practically yelled.

Booth just laughed at his partner's words. He'd seen her frustration with herself increase as each day passed. The normally smooth muscles in her forehead were furrowed from stress and most likely pain. The crutches were getting to her and he was actually surprised she hadn't figured out another way to get around. He gave her a slight smile before snapping back. "Fine, Bones, but if you end up hurting tonight, don't ask me to massage your shoulders," he retorted knowing full well that if she needed it, he'd do it.

Booth recalled the incident that sent her spiraling into her bad mood. Despite the fact that he had all the evidence lined up, forensic corroboration prepared, and witness testimonies given; Caroline had yet to secure a warrant to search Jeffrey Mathis's home. "I can't work miracles, Cher. I'm working on the judge, but he's not in the best mood this week. Says he's not handing out warrants like candy," Caroline had fussed the previous day when questioned by Booth and Brennan.

Booth understood, but Brennan not so much. "This is ridiculous, I give you everything you could possibly need and you tell me that a murderer gets to sit at home and watch that cartoon "Family Man" while an innocent young woman's bones are still laid out on an exam table," she shouted.

Booth could tell she was shaking slightly as she spoke and knew that it wasn't just the case, but frustration with her own injury coupled with her inability to right the situation. He was tempted to correct her by telling her it was "Family Guy" but figured it would be best to give her a pass on this one. He just hoped Caroline would share the same compassion and not scold her for practically yelling at a US Attorney. Most of the time, Caroline liked the anthropologist and went easy on her. Hopefully this would be no different.

Booth held his breath as Caroline spoke, "Cherie, I'm going to consider your tone as a side effect of whatever medicine you are taking right now," she spoke rather snappishly. "I'm doing my best to get the judge on our side, but he's not easily bribed like I am. I suggest you put your lab coat back on and work on finding me something else to tip the scales in our direction." She spoke in typical Caroline manner. "Have a lovely day and take care of that leg. Jurors don't like to see expert witnesses on crutches." With that final statement, Caroline headed toward the break room to get a cup of bad coffee.

Since that encounter, which occurred the previous afternoon, Brennan had been in a bad mood. Her leg still hurt like hell and now she felt as if she wasn't doing her best work because of it. Her injury was keeping her from doing her job. Jameson putting her on a new anti-inflammatory and telling her she had to keep to the same regimen of elevation and therapy was just icing on the cake. She wanted to improve quickly and that wasn't happening. She couldn't control her own body and that scared her.

Booth snapped back into the present when she let out a pouty huff, opened her door, and slid out of her seat fully intending to figure out some way to get the stupid crutches from the back seat by herself without falling over or touching her cast on the ground. She had no doubt that she would have, could have figured it out if it weren't for her infuriating partner beating her to it. Before she could even think about moving, he had the door open and handed her the crutches. "Bones," he spoke compassionately. "Everything is going to be fine. Don't let this get to you," he said hoping his words would actually make a difference.

She stood there, facing him for just a moment and didn't know what to say. She elected for the simple two words, "Thanks Booth."

Booth looked at his partner, his Bones and worried. He couldn't quite get a read on her expression. It was one of frustration and possibly fear. He had plenty of fears of his own at that moment. There was the fear that she'd never heal enough to be his partner again, fear that he'd lose her forever, and the worst, fear that he'd never get the guts to tell her how he truly felt or that she wouldn't be receptive when he did. He didn't know how to comfort her or calm her fears so he did the only thing he could think to do. He stepped in carefully to avoid jarring her and wrapped his strong arms around her slender frame. Within seconds, she was completely engulfed in a hug. He rubbed his hands on her back in his usual gentle, soothing manner.

Brennan didn't withdraw from the hug; she just stood still and let him comfort her. It was something she had avoided most of her life, allowing a loved one to comfort her. She'd needed it so many times, but when you don't receive comfort during a few stressful situations, you learn to compartmentalize, to shut down your emotions and to distance yourself from the source of the pain. The problem was that now she was happy with her situation, her life, her job, her family. She needed comfort and Booth gave that to her.

Booth didn't want to leave her. He would be content with holding her all day long; attempting to take some of the weight of the world she felt she had to carry. Honestly though, he needed to hurry and get back to the Hoover. The case needed solving and he knew justice for Abigail Harmon was part of the weight riding on his partner's shoulders right now. He could at least help with that by doing his job and doing it well.

"Bones," Booth said as he opened the back door to the SUV to give her the crutches. "I'll be back this evening and will take you to the diner. Make sure you get some lunch. I'm going to work at the Hoover through lunch," he informed her. He knew she was struggling with the weight of the world again. "We will get this guy Bones, I promise you that." He hoped she would believe him.

Brennan just nodded and headed in to the building. She knew she shouldn't hold herself responsible for the lack of a warrant, but she did. It was her job to give Booth what he needed to bring the suspects in and she had failed so far. '_If I just hadn't done that stupid high kick, I'd have wrapped this up a long time ago,'_ she felt sorry for herself for just a minute before snapping out of her stupor. '_Temperance, just focus, forget the ankle and find one more thing to get this bastard.' _ She set her resolve and headed in to the lab. She didn't even bother putting her purse up, just headed straight for the platform. She'd figure this out. She'd get Abigail Harmon the justice she deserved.

*****

Finally, 3 hours later, Brennan did what she set out to do. She found the piece of evidence, or mark on the body rather, that would link Harmon's sister and boyfriend to the case. "Hodgins," she yelled from her place on the platform. "I need you to look at his mark on the right radius." Brennan explained the mark she found as she rolled over to one of the many microscopes. "Do you see it?" she asked.

Hodgins just nodded. He wasn't sure if it was more shocking that she found the mark or that it took her this long to do so. It didn't matter though, she found it. She always did.

"I'll take some swabs of it and run them through the mass spec to see what we get," he stated and turned to her in case she had further instructions for him.

She gave him a simple nod of approval before speaking again. "Good, I need to make an impression and see if we can come up with an instrument congruent with the mark," she said. Hodgins knew her process; she was stating the obvious to remind him that she wasn't in the mood to wait on his results. She never was any good with delayed gratification when it came to lab results. Anyone spending more than 5 minutes on the platform knew that.

In less than 10 minutes, Hodgins had the swabs ready and went to his work station to prep the samples for the mass spec. "Hey, Hodgie. Angela said as she walked up behind him. "Want to grab some lunch?"

"I'd love to Ange, but I've got to finish these samples for Dr. B," he stated dryly. "She's hell bent on getting this case solved today," he finished explaining without even looking up.

"Yeah, she's been a little up tight," Angela spoke compassionately. Even she had fallen victim to Brennan's snappish behavior the previous day when she asked her best friend to have a cup of coffee with her. "I'll see if I can get her to talk to me some later. I'm not sure what's eating at her. She's had to wait on warrants before and hasn't gotten this worked up."

Hodgins continued to work, "She's had a lot going on. I'm sure she'll be fine." He could tell that Angela was worried about her friend. They might not be together, but he still couldn't stand to see her worried. "If you want, we could go get drinks after work," he offered.

"I think I'd like that," she said with a smile. "But I'm going to see if I can get Brennan to go eat with me if she's not doing something with Booth," she said and she saw the long expression growing on the entomologist's face. She didn't want him to think she was rejecting him so she made an alternate offer. "You know, Brennan hasn't been much for staying out late since she hurt herself. What about meeting me at the bar after I drop her off at home?"

Jack's face lit up like a Christmas tree and his thoughts went back to that day she came back and accepted his offer to go on a date during the little beauty queen case. The situation was strikingly familiar. They were standing at his station then and at the current moment. "Sure," he stammered. "Absolutely, just call me and I'll be there," he said before adding a simple statement. "Angie, I've missed you." Those were four simple words but they conveyed so much truth. He did miss her and punished himself everyday for letting her walk away. It was the biggest mistake of his life.

He looked into her beautiful brown eyes and hoped she wouldn't run away because of his statement. He watched as her contemplative smile grew on her lips, "Yeah, me too, me too." With the simple statement, she turned on her heels and went to find her best friend. She let the smile on her face grow wider as she walked. She was telling the truth to him. She missed his arms, his comfort, his smile. She was afraid to commit and she knew it. Maybe she needed to take her own advice and just go out on a limb and give her heart completely to Hodgins. She really wasn't worried about what he would do with her heart; she just hoped she wouldn't crush his. She couldn't bear to do that to him again.

***

As the squints did their work at the lab, Booth headed back to his office. As much as he hated it, he had to touch base with Nichols. He'd given her all of the responsibility of digging through all of the background information on Mathis and Abigail's sister, Katelyn. He noted that she had been on her best behavior the last few days. No surprising phone calls to Brennan and no obnoxious efforts to make herself look like a senior agent. If she kept this up, he might just let her go with him to arrest Mathis whenever they managed to get a warrant.

"Nichols," he called as he walked through the door of the bull pen. "You got anything for me on this Harmon case?"

She put down the folder she had been staring at for hours and stood to greet the agent. She'd given up on energetic greetings as they went nowhere with him. He was more concerned about cases and _"His Bones" _than greetings. "No, not much. He did purchase a fair amount of new exterminator's equipment a couple of weeks after Abigail went missing, but that's it," she explained. "Doesn't look like he did anything extremely stupid," she said as she handed him a report on his purchases.

"Thanks Nichols. Bones is working on finding something else for us. Not sure what the hold-up is on the warrant, but getting some more evidence would help," he explained. "I'll let you know when I get the warrant if you want to come along to make the arrest."

Booth let out a sigh. Did he really just offer that opportunity to Nichols? _"Working with the squints has made me soft. I need to work on that. I haven't even threatened to shoot Hodgins in a month,' _he thought to himself. He shook his head and turned to leave the bull pen.

He headed back into his office and quickly set in to some cold files Cullen asked him to take a look at. Usually that meant he was to screen them to see if Brennan would be of any assistance on the case. He'd worked with her long enough to know what she'd throw back at him proclaiming, "I dislike the occlusive nature of flesh," or "Booth, the ballistics lab should be able to identify that bullet in 10 minutes, they have the shell." She was finicky, but she was good, she was his Bones.

After 20 minutes of picking through files, he identified 3 that might be of interest to the infamous Dr. Brennan. He stacked them neatly and walked to Cullen's office with the others. "Here are the files that Dr. Brennan wouldn't be able to assist with sir," he stated very matter-of-factly. "I kept 3 that she would be interested in."

Cullen took the files and nodded. "Thanks. How is Dr. Brennan? Any indication of when she might return to field work?" Cullen asked in a very businesslike manner.

The Special Agent sighed, "No sir, not yet. She didn't get a very good report this morning. She is still too swollen to really begin therapy," Booth tried not to seem too emotionally attached as he spoke. "She goes back to the doctor on Monday and we should know more then."

Cullen understood that Booth was not happy with his current situation. "How is Agent Nichols working out?" He had heard rumors since they last spoke but needed to hear from Booth that she was improving as an agent.

Booth hated answering that question. "Sir, I think she is learning the ropes. She has been helpful in digging through the background information on our suspects," he explained and hoped it was evasive enough to keep Cullen from prodding further.

"Alright, thanks Booth. Keep me posted about Dr. Brennan. Hope to see her in the field with you soon." With that the pair shook hands, Booth left his office, and headed to the break room.

Just as he walked through his door, his cell phone rang. "Booth," he answered. _'Man, I really need to get a new ring tone,'_ he griped to himself.

He listened to the anthropologist on the other end. She was spouting off big words about some kind of mark on the bone matching up with the end of the sprayer an exterminator would use. "I'll be damned," he said as he looked at the paper Nichols had given him. "Looks like Mr. Mathis purchased a new one of those just days after Abigail went missing," he said as a smile formed on his face. _'That's my girl, she did it again.'_

*****

The next few hours were a blur for everyone involved. Booth met with Caroline again and within 45 minutes, she managed to secure the warrant to search Mathis's home. Booth called in evidence and forensic teams and had a short meeting before they headed to the small house on the outskirts of Manassas. According to the stipulations in the warrant, they were looking for very specific items – traces of the poison used to kill Abigail Harmon, specific syringes, and any sprayers used to deliver insecticide.

Caroline had also managed to get him a warrant to search Katelyn Harmon's home for the same items as well as any journals or document that might indicate jealousy toward her sister. Hopefully, they would find everything and everyone they needed at the first house and wouldn't even need to worry about the second place beyond a basic sweep. It was after 4:00 and he wanted to get home at a decent hour. There was a ballgame on TV and he wanted to be home in time to catch it.

His pseudo partner was seated next to him as he drove. He still hated that someone else was sitting in her seat. He decided to call her and at least make her as active as possible in the investigation. "Hey Bones," he paused as she spouted off a few more things he need to be on the look out for. "Thanks, Bones," he said. "I probably won't be back in time to pick you up and take you home. Do you think Angela would mind?" He hated making his partner rely on someone else. She was his charge.

He paused again as she spoke and was satisfied when she supplied that Angela had already begged her to go to dinner with her after work. "Bones, it's almost 5. You'll be leaving soon, right?" He just hoped they were still going to make her stick to the routine of reduced work hours. He wanted his partner back – soon.

"Good, your time's up for the day anyway," he said with a slightly joking tone. "I'll call you as soon as I finish with the search and bring Mathis in for questioning. I'll pick you up in the morning to take you to work." He really enjoyed seeing her early in the morning. It was a good way to start the day. "Oh yeah, I forgot about therapy," he paused as she explained what they'd be doing in therapy the next day. "I need to make sure Marc is treating you right so I'll go with you." He let a small smile grow as they closed their conversation. "Yeah, I'll talk to you later. Be careful, Bones," he closed and then flipped his phone shut.

The remainder of the ride was made mostly in silence. Nichols was still working to impress Booth with her agent skills as opposed to using her feminine side to charm him. She was a good agent and she knew it. She just had to make him believe that so that he'd want to work with her and not Dr. Brennan. '_Why would anyone want to work with a cold fish anthropologist anyway?'_ She'd probably never know the answer to that question.

*****  
Just as Brennan had assured Booth on the phone, she was ready to leave work right around 5:00 and was sitting at her desk, lost in thought, while waiting on Angela. She knew she had been in a bad mood lately, but damn it, she should be allowed to wallow in her misery from time to time. She didn't like to show emotion so she just resorted to being in a pissy mood. People didn't view that as being emotional. They usually just blamed it on menstrual cycles or lack of sleep. She was frustrated with her current situation. She hurt, wasn't healing quickly, and couldn't do her job effectively. She couldn't even drive herself yet. _'I can't believe Jameson said I still can't drive. I'm not taking the damned narcotics. He just thinks I need to take them. I can handle a little leg pain.'_ She took a deep breath to clear her thoughts before logging off her computer.

Within seconds, Angela walked through the door. She stood at the door frame, as she often did, and gave her best friend a flashy smile. "Glad to see you are following studly's orders and are ready to go," she laughed as she spoke.

Brennan just shook her head and smiled. "Yeah Ange, I'm ready to go. Where exactly are we going?" While she went to the diner and bar all the time with Booth, she and Angela rarely went to those places. They reserved a few girly locations for their own use. Places that put things like grapes in recipes effectively turning guys off. She laughed slightly knowing that she would never be able to get Booth in a place like that.

"We're going to Andre's. You've always liked that place. They have that spinach quiche thing you love, right," Angela said as she walked over and helped her best friend pack her computer and get her crutches.

"I do Ange, thanks," she hoped Angela realized her thank you was for more than just taking her to dinner. Angela had been her only family for a few years before Booth came around. She didn't try to force her to be things she wasn't and didn't pry like so many other people did over the course of her life. Being closed off was a necessity in the foster system and it made her the woman she was today. It seemed that Booth and Angela were the only ones to understand that and just accept it. She'd share when she was ready. She always did.

The friends walked out of the lab to Angela's car mostly in companionable silence. They didn't always have to talk when they were together. Angela carried her bag and opened the door to her Matrix when they reached the car. Brennan didn't say anything but was thankful for Booth's SUV. It was much easier to get in and out of than the low lying Matrix. It wasn't that she wasn't thankful for Angela's help but for some reason, it was nicer to have Booth's help getting in and out of cars. She'd figure out why it was nicer eventually.

They made their way to the restaurant without problem and were seated very quickly. Brennan hated that no matter where she went, she was stuck explaining what happened to her ankle. _'It's a natural reaction I suppose,'_ she thought to herself. Maybe eventually she'd get over her dislike to drawing attention to herself, she couldn't change the fact that crutches and a clunky cast drew attention but she didn't have to like it.

The dinner was peaceful until they were finishing with their main courses and preparing to order dessert. Angela was explaining how she had decided to have drinks with Hodgins after the finished. "Sweetie, I know I basically told him to take a hike, but I miss him," she explained her predicament to her best friend. "I love him, Bren, I really do, but I don't know if I can give my heart to someone forever."

Brennan thought for a second, she really didn't have good answers to supply. "Ange, I told you before that me talking about love and dating is like you explaining phylogenetic systematics to me," she hoped her best friend would relent and ask someone else. She really didn't want to be held responsible for causing someone else emotional pain. She'd been there a few days after Angela and Hodgins broke up and she seemed to physically hurt from the emotional pain. Brennan didn't like to think about that. As much as she would deny it, she could recall several times in which she physically hurt because of emotions. As illogical as it was, it happened.

Angela was insistent upon getting her friend's help on this one. "Listen Sweetie, I know you don't believe in love or anything, but I do and you know me, so what should I do?" She almost begged as she spoke.

Brennan took a deep breath and gave it her best effort. "Well, logically speaking, you are a self-sufficient woman and could support yourself and rebound if something goes wrong. You've told me before that love is something that can be shared at different stages of life, so if your hormones and neurotransmitters are signaling that you love Hodgins right now, you should act upon those chemical signals," she said as she took a sip of her water. "If later, those chemical responses change, you could step away, correct?" She hoped she was making sense.

Angela sighed, "And if they don't go away?"

Brennan gave her a smile, "Then I guess you live happily ever forever."

"I think you mean happily ever after, Bren, but I get what you are saying," she put her hand on her best friend's as a sign of gratitude for the advice. "That actually makes sense to me."

"Thanks. . ." the anthropologist began before being cut off by her cell phone vibrating on the table. She didn't think twice by pushing the talk button and putting it to her ear. "Brennan," she answered but her attention was still focused on her best friend.

The forensic artist could read expressions almost as well as Booth. She could tell from how the color drained out of Brennan's face that something bad happened. Her friend was normally collected but now she looked like she had been punched in the stomach. "Bren," she asked once and received no response as her friend hit end on the cell phone. "Brennan," she spoke more firmly. "What's wrong?"

Two words, two simple words were all that Brennan could manage to force from her quickly tightening throat. "It's Booth," she said as she stood, grabbed her crutches, and headed toward the door. She couldn't speak any more right now. She had to get out to the restaurant and figure out what happened. She'd explain what little she knew to Angela in the car. For now, she needed air. She had to compartmentalize and she couldn't do that in the middle of a restaurant.

Angela threw a few bills down onto the table and followed her friend out. She was trembling out of fear for her friend. She'd seen this happen before, at the Checkerbox and she wasn't sure if her friend could handle it again.


	48. The Search

**A/N - Let me beg forgiveness yet again. I really didn't mean to leave this so long. To be honest with you, I got wrapped up in the Bones Twitter Fic and playing a couple of characters on there and that is VERY time consuming. Thankfully, it is going to be calming down as the new Bones episode airs. I do have to say that I've seen the season opener and it is an amazing episode. You will love it. **

**Thanks you so much for all of the reviews for the previous chapters. I really appreciate all of them. I hope that the time between updates hasn't caused me to lose all of my readers. I will promise you again that I will finish this fic and my other one. Just please hang in there with me. I hope you can continue to enjoy the story.**

**Reminder - this fic is set in early season 4.**

**Thank you to MickeyBoggs for proof reading for me. She's amazing.**

Disclaimer - I am not associated with the TV show Bones in any way.

Chapter 48

"Sweetie," Angela asked in her stressed, serious tone. "What did they say?" He words pleaded for her best friend to give her something. Some piece of information that might indicate what was going on.

As soon as Brennan ended the call and hobbled out of the restaurant without paying, Angela knew something was very, very wrong. "Brennan!" she called again as she threw a twenty down on the counter. "Brennan, stop!" It was a desperate plea. She had to know what happened and what had her friend so distraught.

At her best friend's frantic plea, Temperance Brennan turned around. When their eyes met, Angela's heart sank. She knew it had to be something big. The tears were rolling down her normally composed friend's cheeks. She was as white as a ghost and it was hard to tell because her hands we on her crutches, but she looked like she was shaking. "Bren, sweetie," she spoke softly. "What happened?"

"He got shot, Angela," she croaked out over the lump forming in her throat. "That's all I know. They told me to go to Georgetown and ask and they'd tell me where he is," she managed to explain before breaking out into a fully fledged sob. "Ange. . . I. . . I don't know if I can handle this again," she sounded so defeated as she spoke.

"Brennan, you don't know that it's something serious," Angela tried to play the role of the rational friend. "Aren't you the one that always says you shouldn't make a decision until all of the evidence is in?"

"You're right, Ange, but if it wasn't something serious why wouldn't he have called me himself," Brennan was regaining her composure slightly as she made her statement.

Angela knew that her best friend was scared, terrified at what might be the truth. It was actually scaring her to see the look on Brennan's face. "Okay, Bren, let's just get over there and find out what happened," she said as she turned and walked away, her friend frantic yet following right behind.

******* 1 Hour Earlier *******

"I can't believe we came up completely empty at Allen's house," Nichols commented as she rode in the passenger seat of the SUV. "Wasted an hour on that search," she finished.

Booth just nodded, still a little unnerved that he didn't see his real partner sitting next to him in her seat. Nichols had done a fairly decent job at the search. She'd been thorough and followed protocol. She was even slightly respectful of the forensics team and that went a long way with Seeley Booth. "Yeah, well, that happens sometimes," he said, eyes still focused on the road. "These people aren't really idiots. They know we found the body and they are probably doing their best to cover it up," he explained. "Hopefully we'll come up with something at the sister's house. If not, I'm sure Bones will eventually find something that will bust them. She's great at that."

Nichols thought about degrading her but thought she'd seize the opportunity to prod a little bit. She seemed to be on his good side at the moment. "So, she's the best in her field? How long have you two been partners? Aren't you afraid she'll choose her high paying options over working with the FBI someday?" It was three big questions asked in tandem, but Nichols knew she could do some damage with that.

Booth puffed out a long breath after she asked. He steeled himself to provide an answer. "Yes, she's the best in her field. I've seen her in action and she's amazing. We've worked together just over 3 years and no - I am not worried that Bones will give up FBI work. She kind of has this insane passion for the truth," he finished. He wasn't going into any more detail. He provided her with answer enough.

The rest of the drive was made in silence. Upon his explanation, Nichols had given him a simple nod of acknowledgement and backed down. She knew when she could and couldn't push.

In just a few minutes the pair pulled up at Andrea Harmon's home. It was a small, quaint house situated just in front of a fenced portion of farm land. According to the records, Andrea Harmon won a major competition and moved out of her parents' home only months after Abigail went missing. The house was a lease purchase but the records indicated winnings from that competition was more than enough to cover the cost for several months.

Booth immediately noted a small shed just inside the wooden fence surrounding the property. '_If I still gambled, I'd bet $50 that our murder weapon is in that shed somewhere,' _Booth thought to himself before speaking. "I think we should start our search in the house and then make our way out to that shed," he explained to Nichols. "Don't want someone inside the house playing any tricks on us."

"Booth, seriously," Nichols argued with a smirk on her face about her current partner's overly cautious attitude. "This house is completely empty. There are no cars, no lights on, and no dust on the road. We'll be fine." She was very cut and dry as she spoke.

Booth huffed out a sigh. He knew she was probably right, but he didn't want to take any chances. If Bones were here, she wouldn't argue with him about search order. The problem was that Nichols was a FBI Agent. She knew protocols and how to do things and what she was currently requesting was not in violation of any protocol or search procedures. He had to admit; she had worked pretty hard on this case and had been well behaved. He might as well give her this one. "Fine," he spoke in a harsh tone. "We'll search the shed first, BUT, you have to be careful. The evidence team is about 15 minutes behind us and I don't want you getting hurt."

"I'll be fine, Booth. Let's just catch this guy," she stated sharply.

Booth's head whipped over as he heard those words come from Nichols' mouth. They sounded so familiar and awkward at the same time. It was his real partner, his Bones who should be there saying that to him, arguing with him about search procedures and how things should be done. It wouldn't be soon enough that he could get her back. The next 6 months were going to be some of the longest of his life.

The agent shook his head to clear his thoughts, shifted the car into park and threw open his door. Probably with a little more force than he should have used.

He and Nichols made their way toward the small shed. Booth couldn't shake the eerie feeling flowing through his veins. If he had been with Bones, he might have mentioned it to her just to get a rise out of her and hear her tell him that emotions came from the brain and not the circulatory systems. '_God, she is sexy when she talks squintilian,_' he thought to himself.

He approached the shed with caution, gun drawn. He motioned to Nichols to put her back against the wall and allow him to enter the shed. '_Gun goes first,'_ he thought to himself.

He edged himself, silently against the rickety wall of the shed. He allowed his back to partially cover the hinged side of the double doors. He was planning to kick the doors open and whip around quickly when he saw it. It was a very slight movement but still it was there. He could see a metal object being pushed through the corner of the second story window of the small house possibly 50 yards from the shed. It was hard to discern but based on the angle of the barrel, he assumed that the gunman was aiming for Nichols currently standing approximately 5 feet away on his left side.

Everything happened so quickly, he didn't have time to process the events. He knew what he had to do. He immediately reacted bolted to his left and bumped Nichols with his left arm sending her to the ground with a thump. He heard the firing of a gun as soon as he bumped her. He immediately fired of 2 rounds in the direction of the window. The gun fell from the second story window.

Only when he heard the clank of the metal against the patio beneath did he feel the white-hot pain coursing through his left arm. He instinctively dropped his own gun and clapped his free hand over his upper arm. Even his own touch evoked a sharp pain. Suddenly, the world began to spin. Thankful for the shed positioned behind him, he leaned back and slumped to the ground. He was still conscious and heard Nichols calling in a request for an ambulance but all he could think of was his pain and his real partner. He was thankful that she wasn't there to see what happened. He couldn't put her through that again.

He leaned his head back against the wooden shack in effort to find some release from the throbbing. He felt Nichols remove his hand form his arm and put some kind of cloth over it applying pressure. "Booth, it's not that bad. It's bleeding a lot but not that bad. We'll get you to hospital soon."

He couldn't place blame, he couldn't think straight. He focused on the one thing that he knew had to happen. It was his one concern. "Call Bones," he uttered with his eyes still closed. Despite the lightheadedness he was experiencing from the pain and bleeding, his tone was sharp.

Nichols only nodded, put Booth's own hand over the cloth covering his wound, and pulled out her cell phone. As she dialed, a rescue team pulled up and she motioned several of them toward Booth and pointed a few of them to the second story of the small house. She dreaded making this phone call. She felt a lump forming in her throat. She had to break the news to his partner, his real partner.

****Present Time****

The woosh of the hospital doors were all too familiar to Brennan. She'd been in a similar situation before but this was different. She had no idea how severe the injury was, what the context was, or if Booth was even alive when he arrived at the hospital. She wasn't sure which one was worse – being keenly aware of the situation or being in the dark.

The receptionist at the desk didn't even flinch at the sound of Brennan's crutches clicking toward the desk. The anthropologist wasn't in a very patient mood this evening. She needed information. She cleared her throat a few times and when the receptionist didn't respond she steeled herself for a fight.

"I need information about Seeley Booth," she said dryly and the receptionist simply raised a finger at her indicating she would be with her in a minute.

That action certainly didn't sit well with Brennan. She had been fighting tears and anger for 30 minutes and felt the dam bulging. She spoke again, this time in a more harsh tone. "I need information on my partner Special Agent Seeley Booth with the FBI. It is my understanding that he was brought here."

The receptionist looked up at the mention of FBI. "Let me see what I can find out."

Angela looked on with a slight smile as she watched her friend. She had come a long way since starting to work with Booth. She just used position to get information from someone. Four years ago, she never would have thought to do that.

Just a second later the receptionist looked up and spoke. "They have him in trauma 3," she stated while scrolling down to see something on the screen. "I'll buzz a doctor to tell them you are out here," she paused. "You are?"

"Dr. Temperance Brennan, I am his medical proxy," she stated automatically. The room was beginning to spin and she became as pale as a sheet at the mention of trauma 3.

Angela noticed the expression and the unsteadiness of her best friend and placed her hand on her shoulder to steady her. "Thank you," the artist said with a nod toward the receptionist.

"Ma'am, are you going to need a wheel chair?" the young employee asked. She had never seen this woman but she'd seen lots of women go into shock when their boyfriends were seriously injured.

Brennan just shook her head and headed toward an empty chair. She was moving more slowly than normal and not quite steady so Angela shot the nurse a quick thank you and pointed to the chairs they would soon occupy. '_Please let him be okay,' _the artist thought to herself. _'_'_I'm not sure she can handle it again. Booth, you'd better be okay this time.'_

Angela placed a comforting hand on Brennan's back after brushing some stray hairs of her face. She noticed several tears trickling down her cheeks and she pulled her into a hug. "Brennan, you don't know anything yet. Don't anticipate the worst." She hoped it would comfort her friend.

Brennan feigned a smile and looked at her friend, still teary eyed. She took a deep breath and prepped herself. Just as she exhaled, she saw the doors to the back of the ER open and Agent Nichols stepped out. Her white blouse stained with blood, Booth's blood.

Brennan's thought began to spin out of control. His blood on her shirt-this couldn't be a good thing. She prepared herself to get the news. She was thankful that her best friend was by her side. She wasn't 100 percent positive that she wouldn't fall over if someone didn't have a hand on her. She inwardly hated that her emotions were doing this to her, but she couldn't stop them. She would just have to do her best and accept help.


	49. Just a Term

**A/N - Thanks for all the reviews and comments about this story. I am glad there are still people out there who enjoy reading what I write. It probably inflates my ego but hopefully my head won't get too big. **

**Sorry for the delay. I find the number of ways you can get involved in things online amazing. Between Twitter, cohosting a podcast (check out my profile link for a great Bones podcast), and real life, I stay pretty busy. I do promise you that I will finish this story and my other along with writing a few more things that are floating around in my head. Just be patient with me. Feel free to prod through DM from time to time. I don't mind. I do have an outline for this story and can promise you that everything will be okay in the long run.**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter. As always, let me know what you think. I appreciate all the feedback I can get.**

**Thanks to Thnx4theGum and MickeyBoggs for their crazy proof reading skills and to for making sure the chapter doesn't stink. You guys are great.**

Disclaimer - I am not associated with the television show, Bones, in any way.

Chapter 49

Angela Montenegro did her best to withhold the slap she wanted to deliver. She couldn't believe what she just heard. She looked to her best friend who had a look of pure hatred in her eyes. The artist couldn't be sure what was going to happen next. She could only hope Booth hadn't given her a gun in the last few months. She knew she had given up that huge weapon she bought at the mall a couple of years ago. To her relief, no blood was shed. Her best friend didn't accost the female agent. She simply pushed her way between them and made her way through the double doors that lead to the trauma rooms of the emergency room.

Nichols let out the breath she had been holding since the nurse told her that Dr. Brennan was in the waiting room. She dreaded telling her what happened. Booth was fine but he'd received a fairly deep wound to his left arm.

The initial shock of getting shot had stunned him but he regained his composure within minutes of the paramedics arriving. He'd actually argued that he could drive himself to the hospital if they really thought he needed to go.

The paramedics had insisted that he travel with them since it was a gunshot wound and he was clearly experiencing some lightheadedness and confusion. He eventually relented but insisted upon walking to the ambulance and climbing in on his own. They immediately inserted an IV and made sure that he was comfortable.

After a few minutes on the road, he realized that he needed to call Brennan himself. He didn't even want to think about how scared she would be when Nichols called. He spoke to the young paramedic who was writing something on the report. "Hey man, can you check in my jacket pocket and grab my cell phone? I need to call my . . . someone."

"Sure thing, man," the paramedic replied and then stood to check the coat that was hanging over the back of the gurney. After a few seconds, he responded again. "You sure it was in there? All I'm finding is your badge, a lighter, and a poker chip," he explained.

"Dammit," Booth audibly cursed. "I must have dropped the stupid phone," he couldn't believe he wasn't going to be able to call her himself.

The young paramedic gave him a compassionate look, as compassionate as a 20-year-old kid could give. "Sorry, man. I'd let you use mine, but we can't have them on us. It's against regulations," he told the troubled FBI Agent. "Your girlfriend?" he asked. He figured that any guy who was that concerned about calling someone while in the back of an ambulance had to be in a pretty serious relationship.

The word 'girlfriend' brought Booth back to reality. "What? . . . Oh, Bones, she's not my girlfriend. She's my . . .my partner," he stumbled as he explained. "She's just. . . Last time I got shot, I didn't tell her I was okay and . . . let's just say it wasn't a good situation." That was probably an understatement. He hated how much he had hurt her and still remembered how painful her fist connecting with his jaw had been. Truth be told, though, he'd let her punch him a thousand times if it corrected the scared and lost look he saw in her eyes when he noticed her standing there at his funeral.

The paramedic might have been young, but he wasn't stupid. This guy and his 'partner,' clearly weren't just partners. He opted not to push the definition of partner and chose, instead, to discuss the older gentleman's injuries. "Do you make a habit of getting shot?" he asked.

Booth couldn't do much but laugh. The younger man was right, two gunshot wounds in less than six months-not the best record. He thought for just a second before responding. "We do a lot of things that aren't pleasant for women, don't we?" At those words, Booth realized he was kind of tired and might as well close his eyes and rest until they started prodding him in the hospital.

The next hour or so was a blur to Booth. Things happened so fast in situations like the one he currently found himself change? As soon as he arrived at the hospital he was taken into a trauma room. He questioned the decision. He didn't need a trauma room. Hell, he wasn't even sure that he needed a hospital at all. He'd been more severely injured when he was a sniper and had to use his own filthy shirt to stop the flow of blood from various locations on his body. He was lucky he managed to make it out of there alive.

The nurse in charge of his care had explained that they were well aware that he didn't need a trauma room, but all of the regular exam rooms were full and he could choose between a trauma room and a comfortable spot in the hall. Booth had just nodded at the abrasive nurse.

Nichols had come in at some point. Booth barely even waited for her to cross the threshold of the door before he blurted out the question that had been bothering him since the ambulance ride. "You called Dr. Brennan, right?"

Nichols took a seat in one of the uncomfortable, faux leather chairs and nodded. "I did. I think she's on her way here," she explained. "She seemed a little distracted. She was probably still at work."

Booth just shook his head. "She told me she was going out with Angela," he sighed. "She better not have skipped dinner again." He knew she often neglected her own needs to get work done, but she had been doing much better since she got hurt. He thought she realized that she was going to have to take care of herself if she wanted to get better. She had to get better. He needed her as his partner again. He didn't know how long he could put up with this substitute. _'I took a bullet for her. Maybe Cullen will have a little mercy on me and given me an early out since I got shot because of her,'_ he thought to himself. He knew it wouldn't work and that he wasn't getting out of the pseudo partnership until Brennan at least showed some signs that she would eventually be able to return.

The room was quiet. If it hadn't been for the constant entrance and exit of the hospital staff, you could hear a pin drop. The doctor in charge of his care entered and exited quickly. He informed Booth that he would return to stitch him up once he verified his tetanus immunization and had the wound irrigated. He told Booth that he'd have him on his way in an hour or so.

As the doctor was exiting the room, a small lady wearing pink scrubs entered the room. "Sir," she spoke nervously. "There is a Temperance Brennan in the waiting room. She's asked to see you," she finished.

Booth let out a sigh. She came. He could tell her himself that he was fine. There was no death to be faked this time. He'd be patched up soon and he could drive his Bones home and order Thai until she fell asleep. He wasn't sure why, but his heart hurt for her right now.

Nichols spoke first. "I'll go out and talk to her and then bring her back her if she wants to come," she said as she walked past the employee and headed down the hall.

**********

After delivering her news to Dr. Brennan, Nichols was left to stare at a certain forensic artist. Angela gave her a look of death before speaking. "You seriously knew that Booth wasn't dead or dying and all you told her was that he got shot?" Angela did her best not to yell. "How hard would it have been for you to say, 'Brennan, he was grazed by a bullet and is going to need stitches but he's okay.'?"

Angela Montenegro had spoken with, even argued with, many people in her lifetime, but she wasn't sure she had ever encountered one quite like Nichols. A typical person would apologize or at least stutter a bit when they had obviously done something wrong, but not Nichols. She simply stared with a cold, vicious look in her eyes.

Angela broke the silence. She wasn't going to give this . . . this scum any more of her time. "Did you drive Booth's car here?" she asked.

Nichols maintained the same look in her eyes and nodded without speaking.

"Give me his keys," Angela said. There was absolutely no question in her tone. It was a statement.

To the artist's surprise, Nichols reached into her blazer pocket and handed over a set of keys and a cell phone. "Now, you had better leave before Bren finds you. She's very brilliant and I'm sure she has already figured out how to use one crutch for support and beat you to a pulp with the other," Angela wasn't kidding at all. She knew her friend would kill Nichols if she found out that she could have told her Booth was okay but chose not to do so.

"How am I supposed to get home?" Nichols asked. Clearly, she was used to getting her way.

Angela again managed to avoid physical contact and provide her with a simple answer. "I don't care," was all she said as she turned and made her way through the double doors.

**********

Brennan was lost in her thoughts and made every effort to stay upright as she maneuvered down the hallway. Nichols had told her that Booth was okay, that it was just a flesh wound and he'd be fine in a few minutes, but she knew better than to take the word of someone else when it came to Booth's health.

She'd been assured just six months earlier that Booth would be fine, that the bullet had missed all the major organs and that he'd only need a simple surgery to remove the bullet. Then, she was told that he wasn't fine, he was dead. It was illogical and she knew it, but she was afraid-afraid that she would lose him this time. She wasn't sure if she could handle losing him again.

She read the labels on the doors as she walked. She saw the sign for trauma three and took a deep breath. It was now or never. She'd be able to assess the situation on her own in a few seconds.

"Bones!," Booth said as she made her way through the door. He began by flashing her a charm smile. He was happy to see her. His expression quickly changed, however, when he saw her eyes. They were pained and he knew it. He'd seen it a few times and he didn't like it.

He shifted his tone. "Are you okay, Bones?" he asked.

She gave him a simple nod and plopped into the same plastic chair that Nichols had occupied. She didn't speak.

Even though Booth was the one currently sitting on a hospital bed, he was concerned for her. "You probably need to put your leg up in that other chair, Bones," he said. "You don't want it swelling up again."

She pulled the chair up, used her hands to gently lift her leg into the chair, and took another deep breath. She could feel the tears forming and she didn't know why. Booth was fine. He was talking to her. Her fears and emotions were illogical. It had to be all of the medications she had been taking recently. They were dulling her ability to compartmentalize and she didn't like it. "I'm fine," she finally answered.

"Nichols called you, right?" Booth asked. "She told me she called you," he was getting nervous that his current partner had lied to him. He knew he couldn't trust her.

Brennan was actually thankful that Booth brought up Nichols. The mention of her name gave her the opportunity to shift her emotions from fear to anger. "She did, but she failed to include any details in her description of the situation," her tone was becoming more pointed. "It would have been nice to know that you weren't dead. . . This time."

That simple statement hurt. He deserved it but it still hurt. "Bones, I'm not dead. . ." He was going to continue and make a short joke to lighten the mood, but he was cut off.

"Good!" Brennan practically screamed. "If they told me you were dead this time, I was going to demand that they let me see you body so I would know for myself," she explained. "I've learned that it's not wise to take second-hand information in situations like this.

"I know, Bones," he sounded small as he spoke. He could clearly see that her emotions were all over the place at the moment. "I'm sorry, Bones. I tried to call you this time but realized in the ambulance that I dropped my cell phone. I'm really sorry." He hoped that would be enough.

Brennan took another deep breath. She had to clear her thoughts. She was too emotional. Booth was fine. She was talking to him. She could see his wound. It was deep and would require quite a few stitches but he was fine. "I know, Booth. It's just a little unnerving to receive a call informing you that your partner has been injured," she explained. "I know it's illogical but many scenarios began to run through my head. Most of them were not pleasant." She wasn't sure why, but admitting that she had been scared seemed to help her calm her emotions.

"Awww Bones, are you telling me in squintheli that you were scared?" Booth knew that making up another new name for her squint talk would make her smile.

He was right and a small smile began to emerge on the pained face of the anthropologist. "Booth, squintheli is not a real language, but your premise is correct. I was scared," she explained.

The two shared a simple look and the sound of the doors disrupted them. "Booth, what the hell were you thinking getting shot again?" Angela yelled as she crossed the threshold. "I should use Brennan's big gun on you," she kidded. "What the heck happened?" she asked.

Booth recounted the events of the search of the house and explained the situation that led to his injury. Brennan seemed to understand but Angela was not as compassionate. "You took a bullet for that piece of work?" she questioned. "I thought we taught you better than that."

Booth took a breath. He wasn't a fan of someone questioning his decision making when it related to protecting other people, especially women. Nichols might not be a good person but nothing she did warranted a death sentence by a bullet. "Angela, she's my partner. I couldn't just stand there and let her get shot. I had to do the something."

The three people in the room became uncomfortably silent as those two simple words were spoken. The damage was done. It was a true statement. Currently, Nichols was listed as his partner, but he had never called her his partner. He'd even argued with people that she wasn't his partner.

He stumbled over his words and tried to cover but failed miserably. "She's my temporary partner. She didn't do anything to . . . to deserve a gunshot to the chest. I'd do the same thing for anyone," he said.

The response seemed to appease Angela, but not Brennan. For her, it made things worse. Her thoughts began to spin out of control. _'He'd do it for anyone? Anyone?'_ What did that mean about all the things he had done for her though the years? '_Would he have taken Pam Nunan's bullet for anyone, would he have stormed into a warehouse with serious injuries for anyone?'_ So many things Brennan was sure of just moments earlier were now questionable. She didn't know what to think.

Thankfully, the doctor returned only moments later. "Mr. Booth, I'm going to get you stitched up and get you on your way. You are just going to take it easy for a little bit. Your range of motion shouldn't be affected, you just don't want to participate in any risky or physical activity for approximately two weeks to give your muscles time to heal," the doctor explained as he sat down and pulled up a tray of instruments to begin repairing Booth's left arm.

Brennan broke the silence just a few moments later. "Booth, will you be okay to drive yourself home? I think I may have overdone things today and think I could benefit from heading home and resting," She hoped he'd be okay to drive. She wasn't sure she could stay in the same room with him until she had worked things out in her own mind. She'd be able to do so, but she needed some time. Her request wasn't a lie, though. She was quite tired and wasn't feeling well. Her stomach was currently in knots and she hated that she was, once again, letting her emotions take control of her physical wellness.

Booth gave her a concerned look and answered, "Sure, Bones. I could pick up some take out and bring it over as soon as I finish up. I want to make sure you are okay." He knew she was upset and hated that he'd called Nichols his partner. He didn't mean to. He knew it was just semantics, but sometimes semantics could do a lot of damage.

Brennan grabbed her crutches and went to stand. "Not tonight, Booth. I think I am just going to go to bed. I'm really tired."

'_Dammit,' _Booth thought to himself. He knew the damage was done and it would probably take him weeks to correct the problem. He'd start by figuring out what he could do with Nichols. He had to show Bones that she had his allegiance. He was with her 100 percent.

"Alright, Bones. I'm checking on you tomorrow afternoon though," he explained and Brennan simply nodded in response and headed out the door.

*********

The ride to Brennan's apartment was made in awkward silence. As Angela shifted the car into park, she finally spoke. "You know he didn't mean it Brennan. It's just a term. It doesn't change anything," she reasoned.

Brennan opened the car door and said two simple words, "Good night, Angela." With that, she shut the door and made her way to her apartment hoping that the halls would be empty so that no one would notice the simple tears that made their way through her walls and down her cheeks.


	50. Red Hot Pain

**A/N - Thank you so much for all the reviews of the last chapter. It's good to see that you guys are hanging in there with me. I hope you are still getting what you expect from the story and maybe even more. I do try to keep them in character even though we have them in situations that we never see them in. Please continue to let me know what you think. I do value your opinions.**

**This chapter is a good bit shorter than my usual but I found myself at a decent stopping point and decided it might be better to go ahead and give you guys something and maybe make you want more. I promise you that everything will work out in the end. I do have a plan but I want our favorite non - couple to come full circle. When it does happen, it will be real and it will be forever. **

**I did a slight about face with Angela's character this chapter. I don't know about you guys but she is not on my favorite character list right now. I decided to write her how I saw her in Tough Man and I'll do some work on her character. **

**I do hope the wait wasn't quite as long this time. I am trying to speed up the process. I am still working on the podcast and other things that take time. Check out the link to my podcast on my profile page if you haven't already. It's a pretty good listen.**

**Thanks to MickeyBoggs for proofing and to Stef Junkiecat for her feed back on the chap as I wrote. You girls rock!**

**Again, thanks so much for all the feedback. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Chapter 50

Temperance Brennan slammed the door of her apartment, plopped ungracefully onto her favorite, uncomfortable chair and audibly cursed at her current situation; a situation in which she couldn't do what her very nature told her to do – run. She was hurt, scared, and vulnerable, all feelings that she hated more than physical pain. Whenever she felt this way before she ran. She ran when she got too close to people, ran when she had a messy breakup, and ran when she got scared. Problem was - she couldn't run, not literally - her ankle prohibited it - and not figuratively – her emotions wouldn't allow for that.

"_My emotions," _she thought to herself. "_My damned emotions – I allowed myself to get too close and, once again, I'm the one that got hurt." _Her situation completely perplexed her. She was wrong and she HATED being wrong.

Angela was wrong too and she was never wrong when it came to relationships. "_All these people who told me that Booth did things for me because he thought of me as more than just a partner were wrong." _She almost let the tears flow as she even allowed the name to pass through her spiraling thoughts.

She tried to tell herself that it was all just an incorrect hypothesis or a temporary error in thinking. _"An entire civilization once thought that living things came from non-living things like meat," _she thought. _"It's not abnormal for entire groups of people to be deceived. This situation is no different,"_ she reasoned. "_I'm sure the sample size isn't even high enough to be considered valid. Probably not even for psychologists." _Unfortunately, that didn't help her get control of her thoughts.

When looking at her situation objectively didn't work, she did her best to direct her thoughts to a scientific topic. Her science had been her retreat for so many years. She told herself that her emotions were the result of the chemical compounds she'd been flooding her body with for the past few weeks. _"Obviously, these compounds are blocking my neurotransmitters. If I was healthy, I would not be having this reaction," _she thought as she let out a sigh.

This time, however, scientific reasoning didn't work. Nothing worked. She felt the same despite her best efforts to compartmentalize and minimize the situation. Her stupid, metaphorical heart hurt and she knew it. The heart that she didn't believe existed was now very, very real to her.

She wished she could return to a point in her life when her heart wasn't real. Times like when she was at her high school graduation alone or the day she finally lost her virginity. Both of those times she told herself not to feel; the heart wasn't real and that anyone who thought differently was obviously of a much lower intelligence than she was. Allowing yourself to feel was a weakness and she wasn't a weak person.

Determined to do something to get her mind off of her misery she quickly stood. She had every intention of grabbing her car keys and heading back to the lab to work on a skeleton from limbo. She needed to work. She stood abruptly and was so beside herself with confusion that she momentarily forgot about the injury that got her into the situation in the first place. She placed all of her weight on her left foot and immediately snapped out of the stupor as a bolt of red hot pain shot up her leg. The impact and intense pain coupled with the rounded shape of the cast completely threw her off balance. She didn't have her crutches to support her and awkwardly fell to her left and backwards. At that very moment she wished that she had been sitting on the more comfortable sofa and not in her more stylish chair equipped with wooden arms. A searing pain shot through her mid section as her ribs contacted the edge of the solid cherry arm and she crumpled to the floor in pain.

Honestly, the pain she experienced was so intense that she was slightly surprised that she didn't pass out. If she had any residual breath in her lungs she would have dropped the F Bomb but even that was out of the question at the moment. She couldn't breathe much less speak or even cry.

After a few moments, she managed to regain a bit of sentience and worked to control her breathing. She was vaguely successful. She couldn't take a complete breath without intense pain but she managed to supply her body with enough oxygen to allow her brain to function. She didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Regaining composure meant the pain registered in full force. He mind now realized what her body was feeling.

She thought that her ankle hurt when she originally injured it, but that moment paled in comparison to her current state. Her ankle hurt, throbbed even but she knew immediately that the impact had done some damage to her ribs. She'd broken ribs before and this felt the same . . . maybe even worse.

After a few minutes passed, she decided that it was time to try and pick herself up off of the floor. She took a deep breath – big mistake. "_Come on Temperance, you can't spend all night on the floor," _she told herself. She opted to shift flat onto her back and give herself a few more minutes.

Her instinct was to call Booth but she just couldn't do that. He was just her partner and had been injured that night as well. He probably wanted to be alone. He couldn't be bothered with her current needs. She was stupid to even let this happen. She had allowed emotions to fog her thinking and she'd been injured, again. She'd just have to deal with the ramifications of her stupidity.

A few minutes later she tried, once again to lift herself up and failed. She just couldn't tolerate any movement that strained her rib cage. She decided that she needed some help to get out of this situation. She reached up onto the coffee table and grabbed her cell phone. She pressed the speed dial for Angela.

She waited for a few seconds and got the voicemail. She immediately redialed. This time, her best friend picked up. "_Sweetie, not now. I'm with Hodgins. I'll talk to you at work tomorrow. Thanks, Sweetie," _Angela hung up as quickly as she answered. Brennan wasn't even able to say a word.

"Damn it," Brennan said as she just looked at the screen of the phone in irritation. She really didn't know how she was going to get out of this situation without causing herself tremendous amounts of pain. She wanted to call Booth, but she couldn't. She'd have to get herself out of this.

Her determination allowed her to survive her years in foster care and the mountains of Tibet. She was never afraid of things when she thought they might be painful. She'd just have to do this. She wasn't weak and she knew it. _"Alright, Temperance. Just get this over and done," _she told herself.

Normally, she'd take a deep breath but this time opted to hold her breath. She bent her right leg so that her foot was flat on the floor, grasped the table with her right hand, and pulled up. "Oh my god," she groaned as her entire body seemed to burn with pain. She managed to sit back in the chair and reached for her crutches. She knew it would be painful to use them, but figured it would be better to go ahead and get in bed and be miserable there rather than dragging out the whole process.

As she sat, holding her crutches, she planned out her next few minutes. Medicine, she needed medicine and as much of it as possible. She located her pill bottles sitting on her counter and decided that would be her first stop. Next thing, ice, surely an ice pack would cool the burning in her chest. Other things such as brushing her teeth and changing into comfortable clothes crossed her mind, but she decided they would be too painful and she could take care of all of those things in the morning before work.

"Damn it," she said again. "I have therapy before work," she still spoke audibly. She knew that she wouldn't be able to handle therapy in her current situation and most likely would have a hard time working. She also knew that Booth would insist on picking her up for therapy. She had to cancel. She didn't need Booth seeing her like this. With that, she added her phone to her list of things to take to her bedroom and mustered the strength to move.

After a few painful minutes, she crawled onto her bed. She popped the maximum dosage of her pain meds and anti inflammatory and took a huge sip of water to wash down the 4 pills. She took out her cell phone and sent a text message. '_I made other arrangements for therapy in the morning. I will see you later.'_ Her message to Booth was short and to the point, a message that typical work partners would send.

Next, she dialed the number for Marc's office. She keyed in his extension and as expected was directed to his voicemail. '_Hi, Marc. It's Temperance Brennan. I wanted to inform you that I will not be able to attend my therapy session in the morning due to some unexpected circumstances. As of now, I will plan on seeing you on Saturday unless I let you know otherwise,'_ she ended the call.

With all of the business taken care of, she set out to do the complicated task, get comfortable. She knew that using pillows would be her best bet. She already had two at the foot of the bed for her ankle; that part was relatively easy. She tried to use pillows to support her rib cage but no matter how much shifting she did, it didn't help. It was certainly going to be a long night. She gave up being comfortable, situated the ice pack over the swollen area on her chest and winced at the small pressure it added. She closed her eyes, willing sleep to come. It didn't and all she was met with were the tears she had been holding back since that moment in the hospital a few hours earlier.


	51. Excuses and Self Examination

**A/N - Okay guys, this is the first time in forever that I haven't had to apologize for the delay in updates. 2 updates in one week. I know, I'm surprised myself. **

**Again, this is another chapter full of Brennan's thoughts and feelings and no Brennan / Booth interaction. It will return again eventually I promise. I've told you before, that I will work everything out eventually and when I do, it will be a wonderful thing. Just be patient and hang in there for a bumpy road.**

**Thank you so much for all of the wonderful reviews of the last chapter. I'm so glad you guys still like reading what I write. I really do struggle with whether or not the story is still quality and it's nice to hear feedback from you guys.**

**As always, thanks to MickeyBoggs for the proof reading and to Stef Junkiecat for being my sounding board. You 2 are great.**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please continue to let me know what you think. I appreciate any feedback I can get.**

**Thanks for reading.**

Chapter 51

Temperance Brennan never dreamed she would wish for a night of tossing and turning but she wanted that more than anything at the present moment. Despite the large dose of narcotic pain medication and anti-inflammatory she was in tremendous pain. She hurt all over. For the first few hours of her time in the bed, she tried shifting to get comfortable but eventually gave up. Her chest hurt with any effort to draw a full breath and probably somewhere around 2 a.m. she concluded that she must have broken a pin in her ankle. It throbbed and nothing seemed to relieve the constant flow of pain through her body. The pain there was minimal, however, when compared to the pain in her chest.

She'd done her best to relax but she just couldn't. The cycles of pain ravaged her body. Somewhere around 4 a.m., after 2 additional sleepless hours had passed, she decided it was time to physically examine her ribs and determine what damage she had done. She couldn't look at her chest without moving, so she gently ran two fingers over each of her ribs along the left side of her body. She could feel the swelling and inflammation surrounding what she assumed was the point of impact. Simply touching the area with her two fingers hurt like hell. Despite the discomfort, she managed to begin at the sternum and run her fingers along the length of each rib ever so gently. She was an expert at detecting injury to bone but wasn't accustomed to doing an examination on herself.

"Damn it," she said loudly as she found a lumpy region on her 7th rib. The area was her most tender area and she knew it was fractured immediately. _"At least that explains why I can't breathe," _she thought to herself. She managed to feel of her 6th and 8th ribs as well and determined that they were probably cracked or fractured as well. "_Perfect, just perfect," _she ranted to herself. _"I can't walk and now I can't breathe and I'm going to have to go to the doctor to get my stupid ankle checked again." _Her exhaustion, pain, and frustration were evident in her thoughts.

Finally, at 4:30 a.m. she decided that the pain she would inflict on herself would be more appealing than lying in the bed for a moment longer, wallowing in her misery and thinking all of the depressing thoughts that seemed to cloud her mind. She hoisted herself out of the bed and made her way into her bathroom. Every movement made her wince. She wanted so much to take a deep breath to supply her now-aching head with oxygen but knew that wouldn't be a wise decision.

Throughout the night, she had paid only a small amount of attention to her injured ankle but now that she was at least partially upright, she noticed an increase in her swelling. The cast was tight and she knew she would need to pay a visit to her orthopedics' office as soon as was possible. The additional swelling only confirmed her initial hypothesis that she had broken a pin by applying her entire weight to the foot. She only hoped she'd be wrong about the diagnosis.

After slowly making her way into her bathroom, she managed to slowly position herself in front of her full-length mirror to study her rib cage. Her left side was covered in a very large, very mean bruise. She couldn't see how far it extended onto her back but if she had to estimate and the bruising was symmetrical she would say that the main portion of the bruise was approximately one foot in diameter. All of that didn't matter really. It just confirmed what she already knew and didn't help her pain.

She managed to do a sufficient job of bathing. Over the past few minutes, she seemed to be growing accustomed to forcing herself to function through the pain. As long as she moved slowly and didn't take a deep, or medium sized for that matter, breath, she didn't feel the need to double over in pain. She was thankful that she had put a decent sized stool in her shower. Getting in and out of the bathtub would be impossible at the moment. She simply put a bag over her cast and went about her routine even though she had to stop from time to time to gather her composure.

She finished bathing and when she was confident that she could move, she exited the shower, dried off, and quickly wrapped her ribs with an ace bandage. The compression seemed to provide some comfort, at least enough to brush her hair using only her right hand. She kept her left hand close to her body in attempt to provide some comfort to her burning ribs.

Clothing selection was quite simple, anything that was comfortable and large enough to cover the wrapping around her mid section. She refused to tell any of her co-workers the events of the previous night. She had gotten through much worse alone and this time would be no different. She pulled a pair of wind suit pants and sweat shirt out of the closet and gingerly pulled the articles of clothing on to her battered body.

Thankful that she only had to put on one shoe, she finished getting ready and headed out. The use of crutches only intensified her pain. Every step caused her chest to pop and feel as if at least 2 of her ribs were shifting and grinding. She knew that it was entirely possible and not just her imagination.

She stopped to catch her breath momentarily before she exited the apartment. She looked at her watch. It was 5:15 a.m., several hours before anyone else was due at the lab. It was plenty of time for her to do what she needed to do. She grabbed her car keys and considered calling a cab but opted against it. She hadn't driven in almost a month. She knew she could handle it but was slightly apprehensive. She knew an alternate route to the lab that would take her more time but would require fewer sharp turns.

Thirty agonizing minutes later, she was standing in the bone room with the door locked. She didn't need anyone interrupting her. She was exhausted but needed to know what she was dealing with. She positioned herself behind the X-Ray machine, took a quick painful breath, and snapped the button. When the machine finished buzzing she rested her head on the top of the machine and cried. She had more to do but wasn't sure that she could manage. "_I think I would actually take a hospital admission so that I could get a morphine drip right now," _she thought to herself.

She shook her head and then attempted to lift her leg onto the table and nearly collapsed in pain as her rib cage again shifted. She once again considered calling Booth as her body shook from the pain traveling through her thoracic region. _"Temperance, you know you can't call him,"_ she told herself. _"He needs some time alone." _ Part of her believed what she was thinking but part of her knew it wasn't true. She just knew that she wanted something she couldn't have. She wanted Booth. She wanted him to scoop her up in his arms, carry her home, and help her get comfortable. She wanted him to be a pillow underneath her to relieve the pressure on her ribs. What she wanted, though, she wouldn't get.

She should have been used to it by now. She'd never received what she wanted, at least not since her parents left her. She'd wanted them to return but they didn't. She'd wanted to have a family but she didn't have that either. She would just have to be satisfied with what she had. She'd been alone for so long, she would just have to accept that some things don't change.

After reasoning with herself for a few more minutes she once again tried to lift her leg onto the cold, metal table. The result was the same. The pain was far too intense to move forward and, this time, the tears began to flow. She decided at that moment that she would just have to wait to find out the damage done to her ankle.

She called her chest X-Ray up on the screen and winced when she saw the damage. She was right. Her 6th and 7th ribs were broken. The fractures would have been detected by a first year grad student. They weren't minor. She couldn't get the best angle but it looked like there was a small hair-line fracture on her 8th rib as well. _"Well, now at least I know I'm not going crazy and the pain is justified,' _she thought. She sighed. She had to make a phone call. She could handle treating the ribs on her own but the ankle worried her. She'd been right about the ribs. She'd have to go to the doctor.

She took out her cell phone and dialed the number to Jameson's office. It was only 6:30 and she completely expected to receive an answering service. She was surprised when Jameson himself answered the phone. She thought she recognized the voice but discounted it until he identified himself when she began to explain her current situation.

The doctor let out a wince as she explained what happened and her opinion of the extent of her injuries. '_Temperance,' _the kind doctor spoke in a compassionate tone. '_I need to see you here immediately. I'll be here. Will it be a problem for you to come in now?' _he asked.

Beginning to speak sent a sharp stab through her chest. "Owww. . . ," she tried to without what she considered as a whine but failed. She took a small breath and actually answered. "No, that shouldn't be a problem. I will be there shortly," she explained. "I appreciate your . . . oww . . . understanding in this matter," she finished and was slightly embarrassed at the winces she knew were apparent during her speech.

Leaning on the cold, metal table for support she again pulled out her cell phone and dialed Angela. This time, the phone didn't go straight to voicemail. Instead, it rang until the voicemail finally picked up. Brennan considered leaving a message, but decided quickly that she had gotten herself into this situation and would just have to get herself out.

A small tear slipped out of the corner of her eye as she realized that she was alone. She was back to her life as a teenager. Sure, she had lots of people that she could call if she needed something but she wasn't sure that she had anyone that wanted to do things for her. That was the disappointing part. She had assumed that Booth wanted to do things for her but she now knew he did those things as a partner. He'd do them for anyone. She'd been foolish to think otherwise.

As she was about to slide her cell back into her pocket, it began to vibrate. '_Brennan, sweetie, I'll be in to work later and we can talk then. I know you're upset but you'll be fine. You always are.' _ Her best friend probably intended for the message to be personal and encouraging. It was anything but that. It was another indication of the change she had gone through in the past few years. Five years ago, she would have been fine. She might not have even noticed the comment by Booth and even if she did notice, would have never felt the way she felt now emotionally.

The broken-hearted anthropologist laughed she once again glanced at the words on the screen while deleting the message. Rationally, she knew she would be fine but certainly didn't feel fine at the moment. She now understood what it meant when someone said they were a wreck. Emotionally, she was drained and confused. Physically, she was exhausted and in pain. She was pretty sure that was a perfect example of a wreck.

She used her hand to brush a few stray tears from her eyes and headed out the door. She didn't want to but she knew she had to see the doctor. She wasn't going to be able to handle this pain much longer.

She stopped dead in her tracks as she realized something. She didn't have an excuse for the sudden downturn in her physical condition. She had to have an excuse. She couldn't tell everyone that she'd been a complete idiot, let her emotions get away from her, fell and broke a few ribs. She needed something better especially if she was told she wouldn't be allowed to work for the remainder of the day. Frankly, she was considering taking the day off anyway.

For a few minutes, a solution was nowhere to be found. Temperance Brennan could solve any problem though so she thought and thought some more. In her mind, she retraced her steps for the past few days and suddenly a light bulb went off. She had her answer, her new medicine.

Just the previous day, Jameson switched her anti inflammatory. He'd spent several minutes outlining the potential side effects and how the new drug was much harsher than her former one. That was it; it would work. She could just state that she reacted poorly to the new anti inflammatory and the doctor force her to rest for a few days. It was perfect. The side effects were fluid retention, headaches, chest pain, and several other convenient symptoms. It would definitely work as long as no one prodded too much. She doubted they would go to too much effort. Angela was obviously wrapped up with Hodgins and Booth would probably be working. He didn't have the real medical knowledge to question her anyway. He'd probably do his best to be an alpha male and rescue the "damsel in distress." She'd just have to remember to keep her guard up.

Satisfied that she had a plan, she continued to make her way to her car. She worked to keep her facial expressions even and winces at a minimum. If she could just get to the doctor's office she could begin to feel better.

******

Brennan left the lab by 7:00 a.m. and Cam was the first to enter about 45 minutes later. She was surprised to see the light on in the bone room. She entered and noticed that there was an active X-Ray on the screen.

Her first thoughts were ones of frustration. Her staff would never learn. They were always supposed to run things through her. She figured Brennan was the culprit. She was always working on old remains or limbo cases and never informed her supervisor of which cases she selected. She sighed and approached the screen.

"Hmmmmm," she made a simple, questioning noise. _'These X-Rays clearly have flesh remaining and we don't have a case,'_ she questioned. She immediately assumed that someone other than Brennan had been working in the room. It was slightly early for the anthropologist to be working. It wouldn't have been 2 months ago but since her injury she was rarely the first one in.

Cam, always the detective, hovered over the id bar in the bottom left of the screen. The message "LOGIN ID: TBrennan" appeared. That was very odd. Cam knew that Brennan never left the computer logged on. She was usually very thorough. Cam let her curiosity get the best at her and looked at the X-Ray. The label was the generic Jeffersonian ID-JD (for Jane Doe) and 102308_001. When the ID provided no legitimate information, she looked at the actual X-Ray.

"Ouch," she said aloud as she noticed two nasty rib fractures. What interested her more was that they breaks appeared very fresh and the person appeared to be alive. The lungs looked to be decently inflated and it looked as though the subject of the X-Ray was very much alive.

Cam began to worry when she realized that the frame of the subject of the X-Ray correlated very closely to that of the famed anthropologist. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed her coworker's number.

Almost immediately Brennan answered with her typical greeting of "Brennan." The wording of the greeting was typical but there was something else there; something was different.

"Morning Dr. Brennan," Cam began. "I noticed an X-Ray open in the bone room and wanted to check with you before discarding the image," she finished. She hoped that would be enough to get a full story out of Brennan.

"_Damn it," _Brennan thought to herself as she realized that she had failed to close down the workstation. She took a breath and immediately realized it was a mistake. "Oww," escaped her lips but she immediately began to speak, hoping that Cam wouldn't notice. "Yes, discarding the image will be fine. I appreciate that," she thought for a moment longer. "Cam," she used her boss's given name in hopes that it would help her to convey the importance of the situation. "I trust this can stay between us," her tone was pleading. "I will inform you as to whether or not I will be in to work later today, but be prepared for me to need a few days to recuperate," she said before going in to the explanation she had been prepping as she made her way to the doctor's office. "I am experiencing some side effects from the new anti-inflammatory prescription. Those side effects, coupled with my injury are making things quite uncomfortable for me at the moment."

Cam nodded even though she knew no one could see her mannerism. She really felt for her co-worker. She didn't know why Brennan would be alone when she had obviously injured herself further. If one of the partners was hurt, the other was always there. She quickly surmised that something must have happened between them but she would never go there and bring it up. They would both have to tell her in their time. "Dr. Brennan, take all the time you need and I will discard the X-Ray immediately," she hoped that would be reassurance enough. "And Dr. Brennan. . .," she went on. "Please let me know if there is anything you need."

"Thanks, Cam," was all that Brennan could say. She understood that it was quite an inconvenience to her coworkers for her to be away, especially for Cam. She appreciated the fact that she was so understanding. She had only expected understanding. She did not expect to receive compassion and an offer for assistance. At least at that moment, she knew she wasn't completely alone.


	52. Errands, Discomfort, and New Chairs

**A/N - Alright guys, this is the third update in a week. I'd love to say that they will always come at this same speed but I'm not making promises. I love to write, I really do but so many times real life gets in the way of things and I can't update as quickly as I would like. That being said, this is the longest chapter I have written in quite a while. I hope it meets your expectations.**

**I will try to update again in a few days. I have this all worked out in my mind. Getting it into coherent thoughts is another thing.**

**Thanks you all so much for your reviews on the last chapter. I'm glad so many are still enjoying the story. When I started it, I didn't intend for it to be this long or in depth, but it turned into that so I just ran with it.**

**This is another rough chapter for Brennan. Yes, I love to write hurt/sick Brennan (I'm evil, I know). Mostly because I love caretaker Booth and because we never see her that way on the show. I do intend to get Brennan out of this little mess soon but I'll warn you that it won't happen just yet. As I have promised before, it will all work out soon and when it does there will be smiles on many faces, including my own.**

**Please continue to let me know what you think. Reviews, comments, and questions make me smile.**

**Thanks so much to MickeyBoggs for proofing and to Stef for being my idea bouncer. I am not sure what this story would be like without the help of these gals.**

**Hope you enjoy the chapter.**

Chapter 52

At 8:00, about 15 minutes after Cam arrived, the other employees began arriving at the lab. Brennan would have been in around 8:30 if she had kept her usual therapy appointment. Cam knew from the X-Ray that therapy wouldn't be in her routine for a few weeks. She'd need to remain fairly still which she was sure would be a huge undertaking for the extremely active anthropologist. She felt for her coworker, she really did. Her ankle was already severely injured and now she'd added a few broken ribs to the mix. She only hoped she would actually take the time to care for herself. Broken ribs could lead to major complications if a person didn't take it easy.

Cam headed into the autopsy room and began to work. Angela, slightly late as usual, came in around 10:00. "Hey Cam," there was something different about her voice so Cam popped her head up. She was surprised to see the forensic artist's normally bright eyes puffy and red.

"Hangover?" Cam asked.

Angela cleared her throat harshly before speaking. "I wish," she followed up with a cough. "Typhoid Mary from the emergency room last night loaned me some of her pathogens," she explained. "I feel like crap. It sucks too because Hodgins and I went back to his house last night," she laughed a little. "You know. . . there are still 4 rooms we never. . . "

"WHOA! Stop now. Discretion, please," Cam stopped the forensic artist dead in her tracks. She did not need details. She'd seen videos and that was more than enough to last her a lifetime.

Angela coughed and then snickered a little. "Sorry . . . It was just. . .," she had to pause to come up with words. "Let's just say there is a huge chance that Hodgins will develop this cold as well."

Cam just rolled her eyes. '_Things sure can change quickly around here,' _she thought to herself before Angela's statement even clicked. "Wait, what?" her voice conveyed a shocked tone as the word hospital finally registered. "Did Booth have to take Brennan to the hospital again after the search?"

Angela sniffled again. "No, it was Booth. He was grazed by a bullet. He's fine," she explained. "Nichols just did something stupid and called Brennan. Bren totally freaked out when Nichols called her. Booth's new partner conveniently left out the part where Booth was alive." She froze as she said the name of her best friend. "Wait a minute, Brennan's not here yet?" she asked.

Scrambling to come up with an answer that would not break her vow she made to Brennan, Cam stammered slightly before she answered. "Ummm. . . No, she's not in yet. I. . . I think she has therapy," she began to feel a little more confident that her excuse would work. "Doesn't she usually ride in with Booth?"

At that exact moment, the studly FBI Agent crossed the threshold of the door. "Ride with me where?" he asked loudly.

Cam busied herself in hopes that no one would question her or even notice she was in the room. She jumped slightly when Angela greeted Booth. "Morning, Special Agent Man Meat," she kidded but nearly sneezed in his face. After she'd recovered from her sneeze she chastised him. "You know, if I hadn't been in that waiting room for so long last night, I wouldn't be so miserable this morning," she wiped her nose with a tissue. "This cold is your fault."

Booth looked at the forensic artist and felt slightly sorry for her. She really did look like she didn't feel well. "You do look a little sick, Angela. I'm sorry," he finished.

Angela shot him a simple smile. "Thanks," she coughed a little. "You should be sorry. It's your fault that Hodgins and I couldn't make it to the veranda this morning," she kidded.

Booth and Cam just shook their heads. Cam knew that it was probably too early for Angela to be sick from an encounter with an emergency room patient. She figured Angela knew as well but was just seizing the opportunity to pick on Booth. She did sound pretty congested so she figured she should at least extend the offer for her to go home. "Angela, if you feel like you need to go home, you have my permission," she said.

"Thanks, Cam," Angela said. "I think I'm going to go lie down in my office for a while. Hopefully, this headache will go away and I'll be able to work."

"Feel better, Angela," Booth said before getting to the important matter. "Where's Bones?" he cut his eyes back and forth between Angela and Cam. One of them had better answer.

Cam was completely silent and directed her attention to the tissue on the table. She just hoped Angela would have the answer and she wouldn't have any explaining to do.

"She's not with you?" Angela stopped as she was about to exit the autopsy room.

Booth immediately became worried. "She sent me a text message and said she'd made 'ALTERNATE' arrangements for therapy," his tone was concerned. "I assumed you were the alternate. I had to fill out a few reports this morning to wrap things up from yesterday. I just thought I'd swing by on my way to a lunch meeting," he got off the main point for just a second. "Did you pick her up this morning?"

Angela broke off into a coughing fit for just a second before answering. "Damn it, whatever this bug is came on quick," she said. "I feel like I've been hit by a truck."

"Sorry, Angela," Booth felt obligated to acknowledge the artist's obvious discomfort but she wasn't his primary concern at the moment. "Now, about Bones?"

Angela nodded. "She called me last night and this morning," she explained. "I was busy and she was being a little melodramatic so I told her we'd talk today. You know how Brennan is. She has to work things out on her own before she can let anyone else help her out." She was confident as she spoke. She'd been her best friend for a long time and knew, as much as Brennan hated to admit it, she was a very emotional person. "I just figured you were bringing her in."

"Where the hell is she?" he questioned.

*******

Brennan was finally lying on the cold paper of the exam table. She'd removed her top several minutes earlier with the assistance of the nurse. She'd also helped her get the wrap off of her chest to reveal the injury after chastising her for wrapping them in the first place.

"You know that can inhibit your ability to draw a full breath," she'd said as she rolled the ace bandage neatly and placed it with Brennan's other things.

Brennan nodded as the nurse recorded a few things on her chart. "I know," she winced. "It is just quite painful at the moment," Brennan explained.

The nurse gave her a sympathetic smile. "I know. It's a pretty nasty bruise," she said as she patted Brennan's good leg. "When's the last time you took pain medication?"

Brennan had closed her eyes to attempt to relax. She didn't bother to open them as she answered the nurse. "Around 5:30. I took the maximum dose of anti-inflammatory," she explained. "I didn't take any narcotics since I knew I would be driving." She felt the absence of the narcotic at the moment too. She assumed any remnants of the Lortab were quickly depleting. The pain was increasing every minute.

She'd been doing so much better with pain management once she passed the 2 week post-op mark. She was just beyond the 4 weeks post-surgery mark and she knew she had taken a huge step backward. At a previous appointment, Jameson had switched her to a much lower dosage of the narcotic since it wouldn't inhibit her as much while working. She'd never even taken a pill though. The night before, however, she was thankful that she had a half a bottle of full strength Lortab left over. The low dosage would do nothing to stop her pain.

The nurse was surprised at Brennan's response. "You drove yourself over here?" she questioned.

"I didn't have very many options," she stated. There was a distinct sadness in her voice as she spoke. "I realize that medicating me further would be your normal course of action and while that would be quite appealing at the moment, I would prefer to wait on any medication until I arrive home."

"Alright, honey," she said. "I'll tell Jameson. I'll be back with an ice pack for your ribs and Jameson should be in shortly." She exited the room, returned briefly to help Brennan situate the ice pack over the affected region, and then left to attend to another patient.

Twenty minutes later, Jameson knocked on the door and entered. He immediately saw Brennan's attempt to sit up so she could discuss things with him. "Temperance, don't sit up. I'll go ahead and examine you and then we can talk. Let's go ahead and get that cast off," He reached into the drawer and gathered a few things he needed and, as if on cue, a technician entered and began to assist him.

They got the cast off without causing Brennan too much pain. The technician made his exit and Jameson began to check her over. "How's the ankle," he asked as he picked it up and gingerly checked it over.

"Hurts," she said very matter-of-factly. "I'm nervous I damaged a screw. The pain was excruciating the moment I put all of my weight on it," she went on. "I know it's irrational since I cannot change what has already happened. . . owww," she trailed off as she spoke too deeply causing discomfort in her ribs. "Sorry," she knew she didn't need to apologize but did anyway. "I know it's irrational, but I am quite apprehensive about the whole situation since I think I felt a snap as I fell," she explained.

Jameson gently placed her foot back down and marked a few things in her chart. "That's to be expected. Many people are hypersensitive about joints they have injured. It's one of the biggest things to overcome during therapy – fear of re-injury," he said as he rolled the stool up and sat beside his patient. "It does look like your swelling and bruising have increased since I saw you yesterday. You feel up to some more X-Rays in a few minutes?" he asked.

"I'm quite certain that is a rhetorical question since I have no real choice in the matter. I need the appropriate treatment. That being said, I am not feeling up to anything but an amputation and nerve block," she was doing her best to make light of her current situation.

He cracked a slight smile at the always literal Temperance Brennan. "I understand. You must have some incredibly strong arm chairs," he said as he stood. "Let me go ahead and finish my exam and I'll get your X-Rays ordered and get you home and into your Lay-Z Boy."

"I don't own a recliner," she was too exhausted to elaborate further. She just hoped she was right and that he was referring to a recliner Booth had mentioned several times before.

The doctor was still working as he spoke. "You may want to consider investing in one," he said as he sat her ankle back on the exam table once again. "I'm sorry," Dr. Jameson said softly. "This is going to hurt."

She nodded turned her head to the side and prepared herself for the pain.

Jameson was a very experienced doctor but there were some things that were just painful. No matter how careful a person was, examining newly broken ribs was one of those things, especially, when more than one rib was involved.

In the course of the examination, Brennan winced, she cried, and managed to only audibly groan 3 times. She considered that successful. After what seemed like an eternity, but was only actually 10 minutes, Jameson had finished up the examination.

"Well, I've got some good news and some bad news," he began. "Let me help you sit up and I'll explain everything." He stood very close to her and supported her back and shoulders as she managed to get to a sitting position.

Brennan couldn't help but be sad. She was so used to Booth assisting her in situations such as these, she was disappointed. She knew, logically that he couldn't always be there and he shouldn't have to be there all the time. She was a strong, independent woman. She could handle things herself.

The doctor gave her a few seconds to gather herself before he spoke. "The good news is that your ankle still seems stable so I doubt you broke a screw. I'll have to confirm with X-Rays but I'm sure that you won't need another surgery." That was the extent of the good news.

"You ready for the bad news?" he asked.

Understanding that he didn't expect a real answer, Brennan simply nodded.

Jameson took a deep breath. It was always hard telling patients they would need to slow things down for a few days, especially those as stubborn as Temperance Brennan. "Your ankle is going to need some more rest. You are going to need to get it elevated and iced as if you just had surgery," he explained. "I'm going to put you in a high tech cam walker. It's a new model and is not covered by insurance. That's not a problem is it?" Already knowing what the answer would be, he paused as a formality.

As expected, the anthropologist shook her head slightly. She didn't care if it cost her entire book allowance. If it would get her out of the doctor's office, drugged up, and comfortable sooner she'd do it.

"Alright, good. You are going to need to remove the boot every couple of hours and either ice that ankle for a half hour or put it in the cooling unit," he wrote a few things on a pad as he spoke. "Just take care of it. I'm putting you in a boot so that you can ice it and because of your swelling," he spoke in a firm tone. "There will be a temptation to walk on it. I have to warn you, though; if you put your weight on it again you may not be lucky." He honestly didn't know how she managed not to break a screw. The ankle was still stable and that's all they needed.

She again nodded. She completely understood. Even though she didn't believe in luck, she was thankful that she wouldn't require a major intervention to repair damage her stupidity caused to her joint.

He handed her a paper that had some notes on it. "You need to keep that ankle elevated at all times unless you are on your crutches. Ice it when you can. Boot stays on at all times except when you are perfectly still," his firm tone was still in place. "If you need to go to the restroom, boot goes on first. The last thing you need is someone running in to you or slipping and inverting that ankle."

"My ribs," she questioned. She knew to be careful with her ankle. She'd follow the guidelines.

"Fractured," it was a simple one response that said enough. "Your X-Rays, even though I'm not sure how you managed to do them on your own, were probably accurate based on my physical exam. It's hard to tell about your 6th rib. I want to get a couple of angles to know for sure," he explained.

Brennan nodded. If she'd only injured her ribs she would have simply done the X-Rays herself and gone back home. She didn't need him to confirm fractures. She did breathe sigh of relief that she hadn't damaged the screws in her ankle, metaphorically speaking since breathing wasn't her strong suit at the moment. She probably overreacted to the pain she experienced and allowed the irrational fear of re-injury cloud her thinking. She hated how she had let her rational mind get confused with emotions lately.

"You are going to have to take it easy for a few days," Jameson instructed. "Treatment is the same as long as you didn't break 4 or more ribs. You'll just going to need to watch out for the signs of complications," he paused briefly. "Where's Agent Booth today?" The question had been lingering in his mind since he received Brennan's phone call almost 2 hours earlier.

"Oh," she stammered. She obviously wasn't prepared for that question. "He . . .um. . . he's busy working with a new partner and received a minor gunshot wound to his arm yesterday," she was trying to quickly form the answer before she seemed like too much of a damsel in distress. "I would assume that he is resting or completing paperwork on the case he closed."

"Ah," he replied. He didn't know the anthropologist very well but could tell that the answer was manufactured. "It's not a wise decision for you to be doing everything for yourself. Those crutches aren't going to facilitate healing. You're going to have to stay put as much as possible."

"I'll be fine," she was rather blunt in her answer. "How many days would you suggest that I stay home?" She didn't need another person dictating a schedule for her but figured she would at least take his suggestion.

He pulled his stethoscope from around his lab coat pocket and took a step forward. "For the ankle, I'd say you could return to work on Monday if you stick to desk work and keep it elevated. Ice it if you feel like it's swelling," he explained. "For the ribs, you need to let your pain dictate what you do. If you can't comfortably breathe, aren't sleeping well, or have stabbing pains on movement, don't work," he said as he applied the stethoscope to her chest to listen to her heart. "Heart rate sounds good," he immediately switched the stethoscope to her back.

Brennan was quiet as he moved the stethoscope to the four different locations on her back. She waited patiently, fighting the urge to cry. She just wanted to go home, take a very large, very powerful pain pill and go to sleep.

"Deep breath," he said. As a doctor, he understood the reason to have them draw a full breath, but as a person he hated that it would bring pain.

Those words startled Brennan. She knew what would come if she complied. She, however, was a rule follower so despite the pain she did her best to breathe in.

Jameson listened and sighed. "A full one," he said with compassion. Obviously the pain had stopped her too early. "Deep breath and hold," he said.

Brennan closed her eyes and did as requested. She held it and every millisecond the pain in her chest increased. She instinctively wrapped her left arm around her rib cage but it didn't help. '_How long am I going to have to hold this damned breath?'_ she thought to herself. She was sure he'd made her hold it for at least 2 minutes. In reality, it was less than 10 seconds.

"Your lungs sound good," he removed the stethoscope. "You are going to have to be very careful though. You are going to have to make a conscious effort to take a few full breaths every hour. You understand what the potential complications of broken ribs are, correct?" He could see the tears welling up in Brennan's eyes from the pain and didn't see the point in filling her ears with things she already knew.

"I understand," she managed to choke out. Her voice was weak and winded.

"Let's get you over to X-Ray," he stood as he talked. "You want to me to get a wheel chair for you?"

That simple question told Temperance Brennan that she was displaying weakness. She most certainly wasn't weak. "No," her answer was strong and direct. "I can do it."

'_Damn, stubborn,' _Jameson thought to himself as he reached and handed her the crutches.

*****

Forty-five minutes later, Brennan was seated back in the original exam room. Her X-Rays had confirmed exactly what Jameson expected. The screws in her ankle were still in place but she seemed to have loosened the joint slightly. He was confident that it would still heal sufficiently since there was no real diastasis. She would have to be extremely careful not to injure it any further and was back to square one in the areas of pain management and swelling. She'd have to cut back on therapy until the screws were removed and an MRI confirmed the complete healing of her anterior tibiofibular ligament. In the long run, the outcome would still be the same; she just wouldn't be able to regain any range of motion prior to removal of the screws.

She also had her answer about her ribs now. As expected, her 7th and 8th ribs on her left side both received oblique fractures near the anterior angle. Her 6th rib only received a hairline fracture closer to the midline of her body. She immediately visualized the manner of impact in her head – once a forensic anthropologist, always a forensic anthropologist.

The few moments of quiet while waiting were awful for her. She wanted someone with her but that was out of the question. Maybe later that evening she could call Angela. If she wasn't too busy with Hodgins maybe she wouldn't mind coming over and bringing her a few things from work.

She was mentally making a list of things to do in her head: stop by the pharmacy, grab some take out, call and update Cam. The errands made her hurt just thinking about them. After she finished, she'd be able to rest. That was easier said than done. Resting would be quite an undertaking because of her ribs. She could just call her furniture store and have them deliver the most expensive recliner they had in stock in chocolate brown leather. It would coordinate well and she assumed, if she paid them enough, they would deliver it immediately. She added that phone call to her to do list. She was lost in thought and the door opening startled her slightly and disrupted her thoughts.

"Alright, sweetheart," the nurse from earlier spoke in a soft, compassionate tone. "Let's get you into this new boot." She placed a light-gray colored boot on the table. She reached into the drawer and pulled out a thicker version of an ace bandage. "You'll probably want to keep it wrapped at all times unless you are showering," she explained. "You'll probably be much more comfortable without that fiberglass cast. We just got these in yesterday," she cut her eyes to the boot. "They are the newest innovation for post-surgery patients," the nurse seemed to be excited about the hard, plastic cast. She handed Brennan a booklet explaining the cast. Apparently, it was an adaptation of competitive ski boots in Europe. It vowed to provide all the support of a hard cast with the added comfort of being removable.

After reading just the first fold of the pamphlet, Brennan tucked it into her purse. As she did, she noticed her cell phone. She pulled it out and looked at the display, 27 messages. She was about to flip through them when the nurse began to speak.

"Just wrap it like you would a typical sprain," she said as she made sure Brennan's bandage was secured. They spent the next few minutes going over how to put the boot on and add or remove air to make it more secure. "As your swelling goes back down, you'll have to add more air," she said.

Brennan nodded as the nurse clicked the final two latches on the boot. "Dr. Jameson will be right back in to get you out of here so you can go home and rest. If you have any questions, just call us."

Just as the nurse said, Jameson came right back in. He gave Brennan a new prescription for the maximum dosage of the narcotic she had been taking, a spirometer she was supposed to use hourly to force herself to breathe, and a few info sheets on rib fractures. He informed her that he would cancel her therapy appointments for the next two weeks to give her body the opportunity to heal. He wanted to see her back in another week to check on her ribs. He left her with yet another stern warning about keeping an eye on her broken ribs.

She rolled her eyes slightly. She didn't need anyone telling her that they were coming in to cold and flu season and not taking deep breaths would make her more susceptible to infection. She knew all that. Anyone who had ever passed microbiology would know that. She honestly just wanted to go home. It was one of the few times in her life that she didn't desire to work, she didn't desire to write, she just wanted to rest.

"You're all set," Jameson said. He considered warning her about driving but knew she wouldn't listen at the moment. Her mood was definitely different than what he was used to seeing. Hopefully she'd get things worked out before too long.

She thanked her doctor, made an appointment for her next follow up and left. On her way out, she checked a clock. 10:30, she was long overdue for pain medicine and sleep. She felt her cell phone vibrate, once again in her purse. She considered returning phone calls but opted to wait. She'd do it later. Getting home was her priority at the moment. She knew it would be a process and she didn't want to take any longer than necessary.

*****

Booth was currently pacing in Angela's office. It was almost 11:00. He and Angela left Cam in the autopsy room to her work. They went straight to Angela's office and the artist didn't waste a lot of time before climbing on her couch and covering up with a blanket. Both of them had their cell phones in their hands, neither of them knowing what to say. "Angela, seriously," his tone was one they didn't often hear. "Where the hell would she be?"

Angela didn't seem overly concerned. "She might be with Max or maybe she had a book thing. Did you try her apartment building?" she questioned.

"Doorman said her car's not there," was his answer. "I'm glad I know the guy," he went on. "He told me that she called him and said she would be receiving a delivery in a couple of hours. She gave permission to let them into her apartment if she wasn't there." He paced more as his frustration mounted. "Why the hell is Bones buying furniture?"

Honestly, Booth was worried. He wasn't sure what he had done or said, but he knew that it was something. He saw the fear in her eyes the night before when she entered the hospital room. What surprised him, though, was the abrupt change in her eyes just before she left. They didn't display fear any longer. There was a different look in them, one of loss. He'd only seen that look one other time, when she watched Max and Russ drive off leaving her handcuffed to a chair. She'd lost her family again that day and her eyes told the whole story. '_Why would her eyes have that look in them yesterday,' _he thought to himself. _'I'm her family. I didn't leave her. I'm still here,' _he sighed and ran his hands through his hair as his thoughts went in one million directions.

*****

Brennan managed to order a top of the line recliner over the phone, get her prescription filled, pick up a take-out container of lentil soup from the restaurant Booth liked because someone named Mama always added her special ingredient, and make her way upstairs. She did allow doorman to assist her with her bags and arrange for the valet to park her car. On the way to her apartment, the doorman explained that they had delivered her chair just 15 minutes earlier and the delivery man left a card for her on her counter. She wasn't much up for small talk, but thanked him as he set her bags down, provided him with a nice tip and closed the door behind him as he quickly made his exit.

She was thankful to be in her apartment. She looked at the clock on her microwave. It was now almost noon. She managed to eat some soup, take her very large pain pills, and settle herself in her new recliner under her favorite blanket with ice on her ribs and ankle.

She'd turned her phone off in the car when it kept ringing. Now that she was settled, she pressed the on button and it rang almost immediately.

She pressed the answer button and gave her typical greeting. "Brennan," she said. She was mindful to watch her tone. She didn't want to give any indication that she was in pain. She knew Booth would pick up on it in a second if she did.

'_BONES!!! What the hell? I've been calling you for almost 2 hours,_'his tone was furious as he spoke. "_Where the hell have you been and why did you miss therapy?' _His questions flowed quickly.

"Calm down, Booth," Brennan said. "I had to go in to Dr. Jameson's office this morning and had several errands to run afterward," she explained flatly. "This is the first opportunity. . . "She winced involuntarily. _'DAMN IT!'_ she thought to herself. "This is the first opportunity I've had to call you," she finished in a very controlled fashion.

'_What's wrong?'_ his tone immediately changed. He'd heard her wince. _'Are you okay? __Why did you have to go see Jameson? You just saw him yesterday._' He was becoming more worked up with each one of his questions.

"I'm fine, Booth," she lied, completely and utterly lied. It was the only thing she wouldn't be able to shade the truth about. "Jameson switched me to that new anti-inflammatory and it isn't helping. My swelling and discomfort has increased." She planned her words very carefully. She didn't lie. She just didn't reveal the entire timeline. "He has recommended that I stay home to recuperate for a few days and avoid complications," she explained, still not lying.

'_Are you okay? Do you need me to bring you anything?' _He didn't care about his lunch meeting with the assistant director that was supposed to begin in 15 minutes. If she needed something, he'd get right on it.

"No. Thank you for offering, Booth." She kept a very professional tone. "I am going to rest for a while. If you need any assistance with work, just let me know. I'm sure I will feel up to looking over a few things later if my expertise is required."

'_Bones, I really think I should come over and check on you,' _he was really worried. There was something different about her tone. She hadn't spoken to him like that in several years.

She just wanted to get off the phone. She didn't know how much longer she'd be able to manage the dry tone through the pain. She could feel the tears threatening to fall, again. She'd shed too many tears for one day. She knew if she did let them fall she wouldn't be able to keep him away. He'd be able to pick up on her tears from the other end of the cell phone. "No, Booth. There is no reason you should worry about me. I have everything I need," she stated and then gave him what she knew would calm his nerves. "As a matter of fact, I am already quite comfortable in the living room. As soon as we end this call, I plan on napping."

Booth ran his free hand over his face. She was one damn infuriating woman. He was worried, but if she was claiming that she was fine, he knew not to push it. He'd check on her later. He wouldn't let her have a choice in the matter. "If you say so, Bones," he conceded. "BUT," it was a huge but. "I'm coming by later and bringing you some dinner," he let a small smile adorn his face. "I need to see whatever this new furniture you ordered is." He knew that would bug her.

'_How the hell did he know I got a recliner,'_ she thought to herself. '_You know what, it doesn't matter. I'm too tired for it to matter,'_ she decided before answering him. "Fine, Booth. Just don't expect me to be very social. I'm extremely tired and didn't sleep well last night."

Booth was satisfied. He'd check on her later. "Alright, Bones. Just call me if you need anything."

"I'll manage on my own, but thank you, Booth. I will talk to you later," she said dryly and then clicked off her phone. She let out a slight sigh and then covered her eyes with her arm. She was in one mess of a situation.

She stayed in that position for a few minutes but soon the pain medication was beginning to pull her under. Her thoughts didn't have the full opportunity to get away from her. In just a few minutes she was asleep.

When Brennan hung up abruptly, Booth just looked at his phone. He knew something was up but couldn't quite put his finger on it. He glanced over to the couch and found that Angela had fallen asleep. He'd call her after lunch and get her to call Brennan to see what she could get out of her best friend. He headed out of the lab for his lunch meeting. His mind was anywhere but work.

****

Booth spent the remainder of the day half-focusing on paperwork while worrying about his real partner. He'd met with the Assistant Director about a new training program he would be assisting with at Quantico. Cullen had recommended he teach the class. It was to be centered on evidence collection and collaboration with laboratory representatives. He would be spending the next couple of weeks developing some training materials. He'd need to be out of the field that long to allow his arm to heal anyway. At least he could be productive during that time.

The best part of the meeting came when the Assistant Director informed him of a training class in a few days to be held in the Anchorage Bureau. Apparently, they were doing some amazing work with forensic evidence collection there. '_I didn't realize they did anything at the Anchorage Bureau after September,' _Booth thought to himself.

Booth's superior seemed to be mulling over the decision of which 5 new agents he should send since it was a long trip and a pretty cold time of year in Anchorage. Booth automatically seized the opportunity and signed Nichols up. '_That should be a nice learning experience for her,'_ he thought to himself while trying to withhold a smile. At least she would be out of his hair for a few weeks. He wasn't sure if it was vengeance, animosity, or a prank but he liked it. He'd threatened her with Alaska if she screwed up. At least this way she'd think he was serious.

Around 4:00, he couldn't suppress his alpha male tendencies any longer and he called Angela. She informed him that she had talked to Brennan and would be going by after work. She had no intention of staying long since she felt like crap, but would check on her and let him know if she needed anything.

"Thanks, Angela," he had said. "I really appreciate it. There is a meeting about Parker's hockey league at 6:00. Tell Bones I'll come by after that," he sighed. He hated to hold off that long, but he was helping to coach Parker's team and the season started the next week. He had to go.

*****

Brennan spent the entire day sleeping, icing her injured body parts, and groaning in pain as pain meds wore off before she was allowed another does. Around 5:00, Angela came by. She wasn't amazing company and barely noticed a change in Brennan's movements or mannerisms. Brennan hated to be thankful for her friend's sickened state, but if it helped her disguise her own condition, she'd take it. She wasn't up to two interrogations in one evening and was sure that Booth would give her one.

Angela did apologize quickly for ignoring her calls. Apparently, she and Hodgins had picked right back up where they left off. She promised to tell her all about it when she wasn't sneezing every few seconds.

Brennan did advise her friend to see a doctor if her symptoms didn't improved. "Jack already told me that he was making me go if I kept him up coughing tonight," Angela had replied. "I'll probably go in tomorrow before I go in to work."

They watched an episode of some sitcom about young adults living in a New York apartment building. Brennan didn't get it. Obviously, there was no way that any of those people could afford an apartment in Manhattan with the salaries they would make in their line of work. Honestly, she wasn't even sure any of them worked. _'This is why I don't like television,'_ Brennan thought to herself. _'I feel as though my IQ would decrease if I watched this repetitively.'_

Angela took her leave around 6:30. She kissed her friend on the cheek and vowed, if she felt better, to come by the next day so they could actually talk.

*****

Booth knocked on her front door around 7:45. He'd finished at Parker's league meeting, grabbed some Thai, picked up a few things at a bakery, and headed straight to Brennan's. He was nervous. He didn't know what was going with her at the moment. Whatever it was, it bothered him. Over the last month, he'd managed to get her to accept his help. They had some wonderfully intimate moments and he didn't want anything to hurt the progress they were making.

'_Maybe I need to just go ahead and talk to her, tell her how I feel,' _he thought to himself. He wanted to tell her. He just wanted her period. '_If she's not ready, telling her will ruin everything,' _he conceded internally as he walked up her stairs. He decided to watch her closely and if she seemed ready, he'll talk to her. If she seemed reluctant at all, he'd wait.

Luckily for Brennan, she had just woken up after a quick nap that began as soon as Angela left and managed to change into some pajamas just before Booth arrived. Since she'd been up and about, she didn't have to worry about quickly disposing of extra ice packs or anything in order to hide her condition. While getting ready, she defied doctor's orders and rewrapped her ribs in anticipation of Booth's arrival. She knew he'd notice if she was in a lot of pain and she didn't want him to see it.

She managed to work through her emotions throughout the day during her wakeful periods She convinced herself that missing Booth was irrational and that she could take care of herself. She didn't need him doting over her because he thought she was in pain. It would only cause her newly walled in emotions to rise to the surface.

Booth didn't wait for her to come to the door when he knocked. He just used his key and opened the door as he had many times before. He entered quietly in case she was sleeping. He immediately saw her. "Hi, Bones," he said. "Feeling better?"

"I am doing satisfactorily considering the interaction I experienced," she had planned that response. Technically, her ribs contacting the arm of her stylish chair could be considered an interaction- again, not a lie.

He grimaced a little. "You need anything?"

"No," she answered. "But I hope you don't mind if I sit down. I am quite tired."

"No, I'll get our food. . . WHOA, Bones? What is that?" He finally allowed his eyes to stray from his partner long enough to see the new recliner.

Brennan shook her head and let the first smile of the day form on her face. "That is my new recliner. It was delivered today. It is quite comfortable," she explained.

Booth's eyes lit up like a little boy in a LEGO store. "Can I try it out?" he asked.

"Sure, I'll sit on the couch. I need to do some work on my laptop," she said. "I am sure I have a few emails to answer from my publisher."

"Thanks, Bones," he was still smiling. "You go ahead and sit down and I'll bring you some food. I brought Thai and snicker doodles." He held the white paper back from the bakery up and gave her a charm smile.

"Thanks, Booth," she said with a smile as she turned toward the couch.

At that point, Booth noticed the boot on her leg instead of the usual cast. "What's with the space boot, Bones?"

"Apparently my interaction," again not a lie, "has caused my swelling to increase and Dr. Jameson wanted to place me in a removable cast to facilitate ice therapy and elevation," she said as she gingerly eased down onto the couch and turned sideways so that her legs were stretched in front of her on the couch. Earlier, she set several pillows up on the arm to prop herself and had a few pillows ready to elevate her ankle. She knew her partner well and figured he would need to try the new recliner.

She wouldn't admit it, but sitting on the couch hurt her immediately by putting too much stress on her injured midsection. She was in an odd position. She could tell him what happened and he'd immediately allow her to occupy the chair, but that would entail telling him what happened and admitting weakness. She chose to accept her own discomfort in order to avoid the emotional breakdown she would have if she admitted her feelings at the moment.

Booth studied her from her kitchen as he got a few things ready. "It looks bad, Bones." He noticed some increased bruising above the wrap and on her toes. "You sure you're okay?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, Booth, I am fine. I just need to get some rest and stay off the crutches as much as possible."

"If you say so, Bones," he gave up pushing and handed her a plate before situating himself in the new recliner. "Bones, seriously, this chair. . . this chair is like heaven," he leaned it all the way back and turned on the massager. "I could get used to this." He was pushing buttons. "It even has a fridge unit in the arm." He got more excited with each word. "Do you have anything other than the Moroccan ear wax beer?"

She laughed at him a little too hard causing a pain to shoot through her ribs. She immediately grabbed the pained region and then cut her eyes to Booth. She quickly saw that he was messing with buttons on the chair and didn't notice her lack of composure. "Of course I have cheap American beer, Booth. It's in the fridge." She didn't offer to get it for him like she normally did. She didn't want to move. She had rested quite well in the recliner but the couch was too hard and the straight angles placed additional pressure on her ribcage. She didn't know how long she would be able to stay on the couch without groaning from the pain.

They ate in silence, less the occasional laugh from Booth in regards to a new feature on the chair. Brennan picked at her food. Her appetite wasn't strong since she was in a good deal of pain. She managed to eat a partial serving of noodles and a snickerdoodle. That would be enough to keep Booth off her back for the time being.

Booth finally spoke. "Bones, mind if I turn on the NHL channel?" He asked and studied her a little. She was hiding something. He knew it. He could see it in her eyes and her guarded mannerisms. She just thought she built effective walls.

He decided at that very moment that he couldn't talk to her, not tonight. When he did tell her, the moment had to be exactly right. Telling his feeling to Bones would be like his job as a sniper. You had one shot and one shot only. Screw things up and you'd never be able to go back. He wasn't willing to risk losing her forever because of bad timing.

"You sure you're okay there Bones?" he prodded. "You look a little uncomfortable."

She nodded. "Yes, Booth, I'm fine," she said before changing the subject. "I don't mind if you watch the ballgame, Booth. I'm just going to finish up with these emails." She carefully replaced her plate with her laptop on her lap and began sending emails. She sent one to Cam, updating her about her interaction. She also emailed her publisher confirming some upcoming deadlines.

He smiled and studied her again as she cut her eyes back to her laptop. "Okay, Bones," his tone indicated that he wasn't going to accept her answer in the long run but would give her the time she needed. "Oh and Bones," he laughed. "Hockey is not a ballgame," he said and gave her a charm smile. He stood and cleared the plates as she worked. When he was finished with the dishes, he settled back into the greatest piece of furniture ever made.

*****

Two hours later, Temperance Brennan was miserable. She hurt and she was still sitting on the hard couch. Every muscle in her chest burned with pain and her ankle throbbed. Each breath amplified the searing pain. She looked over to the recliner and saw Booth fast asleep. He fell asleep about an hour earlier while still watching the hockey game.

She hated to do it but she was going to have to wake him up. She couldn't handle another sleepless night. She'd already skipped many of the doctor's instructions like using the spirometer on schedule and wrapping her ribs. She wasn't willing to forgo sleep tonight though. She wanted to and needed to rest.

She replaced the boot on her ankle, carefully stood, and walked over to Booth. "Booth, . . . Booth," she shook him gently.

His eyes popped open. "Bones, are you okay?" he said before even wiping the sleep from his eyes. "I'm sorry I fell asleep."

"You have nothing to apologize about, Booth," she said as she made her way to the kitchen to take her next dose of medication. "I just figure that while comfortable, sleeping in the recliner would not be good for your disc condition."

He ran his fingers through his hair and followed her into the kitchen. "Yeah, . . . Thanks, Bones," he said wanting to asked her why her brow was furrowed from pain. "I better get going. I have a lot of work to get done tomorrow."

She was thankful getting him to go home hadn't been a struggle. In just a few minutes she'd be able to relax. "Thanks for coming over. I appreciate it," she finished.

He headed toward the door. He had to resist the urge to make physical contact with her. For some reason, though, he could tell that she wasn't up for that at the moment. He knew something wasn't right. Something had happened. He just still couldn't put his finger on what caused it.

"I'll call you around lunch tomorrow." He looked her over for any indication about the problem. His efforts turned up nothing, however. "Take it easy and call me if you need anything, okay?" he finished.

"Yes, Booth, I will call you if a situation arises that I cannot handle on my own." Her speech was still very dry.

He simply nodded. "Good night, Bones."

"Good night, Booth. Thanks for the company," she said as he made his way to the door.

She watched as the door closed and the lock clicked as Booth locked it from the outside.

Since she was finally alone, Brennan unwrapped her ribs, took her medication, and headed to the recliner with two large ice packs.

She sighed as she realized that the chair was still warm and Booth's presence lingered. She draped the throw over herself and situated the icepacks in the appropriate locations taking comfort in the cool relief they brought.

Just a few minutes later, she closed her eyes, hoping for sleep to come so the whirlwind of thoughts in her mind would stop. She did her best to take a deep breath and when she did she noticed something, something lovely and painful at the same time – Booth's scent.

His scent was all over her throw blanket. It was so strong that it overpowered the once strong scent of new leather that earlier filled the room. It made her smile slightly but the smile quickly became a frown when she realized it belonged to someone she couldn't have.

She had mixed emotions about letting him leave a few minutes earlier. Her emotions wanted him to stay. They wanted to tell him everything and let him help her get comfortable. She wanted to allow him to rub his strong muscular hands on her burning ribs. Her mind, on the other hand, told her that she needed to move on and focus on healing. Her mind told her to be thankful that he had vacated her chair so that she could finally stop the burning in her ribs.

As her thoughts went everywhere, the medication began to pull her under. Her eyelids began to droop. She took in a final, decent sized breath before sleep came. At that moment, she reveled in his scent and allowed it to lull her into a deep, comfortable sleep.


	53. Metaphorical Olive Branches

**A/N - The wait wasn't quite as long as it has been before but I'm still sorry to make you guys wait. I know what it's like to be invested in a story and have to wait forever for updates. It's hard and I hate it but real life just gets in the way a lot. I can still assure you that I will finish my stories and that you are welcome to hound me all you would like.**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter. No, things still aren't resolved for our favorite non couple but hopefully you can begin to see a little light at the end of the tunnel. I do hope to get in at least one more update before Christmas vacation is over. It could happen. Things have been fairly uneventful.**

**Thank you so much for your reviews on this story and my others. I am still astonished that people consider what I write worthy of reviews. I appreciate each one of them. Please continue to let me know what you think. Also, if you have ideas, let me know. I'm always open to suggestions.**

**Thanks so much to MickeyBoggs for proof reading and to Thnx4theGum and StefJunkiecat for their help with the story line. I really appreciate you guys.**

**I hope each and every one of you have a wonderful Christmas or other holiday. ;-)**

Chapter 53

Seeley Booth left his partner's apartment hesitantly. He knew something was up. He could read it in her eyes. Her eyes were distant and disconnected. They carried a look he hadn't seen from her in a couple of years and he didn't like it. He did, however, know his partner well enough to know when she needed to work through something and when he shouldn't push. He'd push her later, but for the night, he'd give her some space.

He did think about camping out on her doorstep but opted against it. He figured he needed to get a decent night's sleep, if it would come, and he could show up at her place in the morning with coffee and bagels. She'd told him she would be out of work the next day but he knew his partner. She wouldn't stay home unless something was seriously wrong. She seemed to be tense and tired, but the best he could tell, she was alright. He knew her and he knew she'd push herself to the limit. When she reached that limit, he'd be there to help her. For now, patience was his best strategy.

He took a deep breath to help him resist the urge to make her talk to him and then headed down the stairs. He'd head home and come back the next day. The next day would be better; at least he hoped it would be.

****

Temperance Brennan managed to drift off to sleep for a few hours without incident. Thanks to the medication, she didn't even stir until around 4:00 am. At first, the pain breaking through the cloud of medication didn't completely wake her. It just pulled her out of her much needed, deep slumber to that place between sleep and awake. She could feel the pain, she knew it was there but at first it wasn't enough to encourage any movement or action on her part, she could continue to rest.

As the next hour or so went on, the pain continued to mount. She didn't want to move. She wanted to stay in the warm confines of her recliner forever but finally around 5:15 she couldn't manage any longer. She gently pulled herself from her little cave and headed into the kitchen to take another, very large dose of medication, one that would hopefully knock her back out until at least lunch time.

She didn't even waste the time or energy on putting her boot back on, despite her doctor's instructions. She swallowed a few pills, made a short trip to the restroom and was back in the recliner very quickly. She hurt but more than anything else, she was tired. She didn't want to face the world or her own thoughts. She just wanted to sleep. If she was asleep, her thoughts didn't haunt her, not when she was medicated anyway.

Under typical circumstances, Temperance Brennan had very vivid dreams. Many of those dreams, at least in the last year, had been about her partner. She had silly dreams, happy dreams, and terrifying dreams about him. She was thankful at the moment that the medication seemed to halt those dreams. She wasn't sure she could handle being haunted by her thoughts both while awake and asleep. She knew that eventually, she'd have to face the issue and the thoughts that haunted her, but for the time being, she was content to let the medication dull both the throbbing in her chest and the pulsing thoughts in her heart and mind.

It was only a few minutes until she was sleeping once again. Each breath seemed to come more and more easily until she was no longer conscious of any pain, only the sweet relief of sleep.

***

Seeley Booth flipped his poker chip in the air as he waited for his partner to come to the door. He'd called the lab and her cell earlier. Angela told him she wasn't coming in today and Brennan didn't pick up her cell. He knew where to find her. He at least granted her the opportunity to come to the door in her own time by knocking. He would wait exactly two minutes and if she didn't come to the door, he was going in. He stood patiently holding the bagels under his arm, coffee in his left hand, while flipping his poker chip with his right one.

After 45 seconds, his patience had run out. She'd be at the door by that time if she had any intention of coming, she'd already be there. He recalled the time, just a few months ago, when they had the early morning outhouse case and he found her in her apartment with that guy. Even then, she was at the door within 30 seconds, bed head and all. She wasn't one to be ashamed of her current situation, no matter what it was.

She still wasn't at the door by the time he stopped his spiraling thoughts so he did what any good "_partner" _would do. He took his key, opened the door, and entered. Obviously, if she didn't answer the door, she needed him.

Honestly, upon opening the door, he expected her to be in the shower or soaking in the tub. He was surprised, however, when he immediately noticed that she was in the recliner, the amazing recliner he'd fallen in love with the night before. Her curls were scattered along the top of the leather and she was completely still. At that moment, he had no idea why she would be sleeping in the recliner. He knew that it was the most comfortable thing on the earth, but he couldn't imagine the always logical Temperance Brennan opting to sleep in a recliner. '_Maybe she's the one who is a constant surprise,'_ he thought to himself as he came to stand beside the recliner.

In that split second, he knew why she'd slept in the recliner. He stilled in utter shock at the sight before him. "What the hell?" he said loudly enough he expected to be met with a pair of crystal blue eyes but they never opened. His next action could be considered a complete invasion of her personal space. He didn't care though. He needed to see why the heck she needed ice packs on her chest. He'd been with her for hours the previous night and she didn't say a word about hurting anywhere. '_Way to be observant, Seeley,' _he thought to himself. He prided himself on being able to read people and he completely missed this one.

He carefully, calmly lifted the blue, now almost room temperature ice pack from his partner's chest and winced as he saw a very large, very mean bruise adorning her rib cage. He had dreamed of the time when he would get to look under her clingy top and get a glimpse of what he knew would be soft, beautiful skin but he didn't expect it to happen under these circumstances.

Steam rose from his ears as he thought about their current situation. She'd lied to him. She was hurt and didn't tell him. '_Interaction,' _he huffed as he recalled her words from the previous night. '_She had an interaction with something that's for sure but it sure as heck wasn't a drug.'_ He studied her bruises for just a few more seconds. They looked awful and painful. He'd broken ribs before and knew how it felt. From the looks of her rib cage, what he could see of it, she'd broken more than one rib.

He thought for a few minutes more, still studying the sleeping anthropologist. He wasn't exactly sure what he should do. Should he wake her up and yell at her, wait until she woke up and interrogate her, or get her a new ice pack and hold her hand. Finally, after a lot of thought he chose a combo deal. He knew she probably needed a new ice pack but he didn't want to wake her. He grabbed her some new ice from the freezer and situated it on her ribs. He then decided he'd do a little bit of work around her apartment and later he'd watch a hockey game on TV or something.

****

He worked for an hour or so. He'd called Cam and Cullen letting them both know that he was going to take another day off. Cullen couldn't argue, after all, he'd just been shot in the arm. Some agents would take a week or so off for a flesh wound. He might as well take some time. He wouldn't have taken the time if he didn't know for sure that his partner needed him. She needed him at the moment and he needed to talk to her. He needed to know why she had omitted this piece of information. He thought back to the previous night. He should have seen it. She didn't move at all unless completely necessary. She kept her back straight and tended to keep her arm across her chest as if guarding her ribs. He should have seen it but he didn't. He wanted to kick himself for that.

He walked back into her bedroom to make her bed and pulled out his phone. Maybe Angela would know what happened. He called her and had a very brief conversation and quickly discovered that she was clueless as well. She'd seen Brennan but didn't notice anything wrong. She'd been pretty self -consumed with her cold. Booth couldn't quite get a read on her reaction but she seemed to be concerned about her friend and promised to come over later to check on her. She'd been to the doctor earlier and got a shot so she was feeling much better.

He hung up the phone and finished straightening her bedroom and then loaded her dishwasher. He was utterly confused about his actions at the moment. He was furious at his partner but still found himself compelled to do the simple tasks for her to save her any possible pain. He knew why he felt that way. He knew he loved her; it was that simple. He just didn't know how to act on it. He was very close to telling her but now this reversion put a damper on the plans. He'd have to figure it out but first he needed to talk to her. He needed to get the truth.

****

After finishing up the final few tasks, Booth had plopped onto Brennan's couch. He didn't know how long it would be until she woke up but he checked his watch and it was a little after 10 am. He'd just have to wait. In some ways, he felt like he was on a stakeout waiting for the criminal to make a move. He'd have to make a conscious effort not to treat Brennan like a criminal. She was so damned logical he figured she had some reason for lying to him. It was probably stupid but she had a reason. She always had a reason.

He kept the volume on the TV low and flipped aimlessly through the plethora of "Are you my baby's daddy" talk shows, court programming and children's cartoons. Finally, he landed on reruns of "Who's the Boss." He always liked that show as a child but for some reason now, he didn't like it. The female lead infuriated him and he just felt bad for Tony.

Finally, 45 minutes later, his partner began to stir. He immediately sensed some discomfort from her. Her normally smooth forehead was wrinkled and she placed the arm that had been above her head protectively over her rib cage. '_Pain meds must be wearing off,' _Booth thought to himself.

Booth knew she'd wake up soon. He could just tell. He had to fight back the urge to wake her and also had to fight the urge to jump up and get her some meds to make her more comfortable. He needed to talk to her and needed her to stay awake long enough to give him the truth.

Thankfully, it was only about 5 minutes before those crystal blue eyes popped open. "Booth?" she said with a wince. "What. . . What are you doing here?" she asked as she straightened herself out slightly.

Booth's blood boiled at the question. "What am I doing here. . . Care to tell me what the hell you're doing here? Why you have bruises the size of Texas on your rib cage and can't take a breath without wincing?" he ranted. "I came here to check on you. . . I stayed because I want the truth."

Temperance Brennan closed her eyes against the pain and anger she was currently subject to. '_Damn it,'_ she thought to herself. '_I never should have given him that key. You know what,'_ her thoughts got the best of her. _'It doesn't matter if I gave him a key or not. . . He would have just broken down my door.'_

"Bones, you better not go back to sleep on me right now," he practically yelled. "I deserve some answers out of you."

She took a deep breath – big mistake. She ended up wincing loudly. "Just give me a second, okay?" Her tone was reserved and almost scared. Booth couldn't get a good read on it. He could tell she was hurting but he had to resist the urge to help her out right now. He needed to know the reason she was holding back. He would never get that if he just let everything slide.

She took just a few minutes, put her boot back on, and headed to the restroom. Her ribs hurt but seemed to be a little better than the day before. For that, she was thankful. She freshened up a little bit. It was amazing how much of a difference clean teeth and a freshly washed face could do for a person's demeanor.

She made her way back into the living room. Instead of climbing into the recliner, she sat in the stiff armchair. She hoped maybe Booth would jump into "the little piece of heaven" and fall asleep so she wouldn't have to answer his questions. No such luck, he stayed situated on the couch and never once removed his eyes from her.

When she was reseated, he cleared his throat and broke the silence. "So, Bones, got anything you'd like to tell me?" His tone was very serious. "Like how the hell did you manage to do that to yourself and why on earth you didn't call me? How about whether or not you are okay or have even seen a doctor, Temperance," he used her first name in hopes that it would convey his frustration.

At that very moment, lots of emotions that lay just beneath the surface over took her and a simple tear rolled down her cheek. She was completely confused. She used her thumb and wiped the lone tear away and faced her partner. "Where would you like me to start, Booth?" she asked. She tried to keep her tone clinical and void of all emotions.

"How about what happened after you left the hospital in a such a hurry on Wednesday night," he said. He'd seen the tear but consciously allowed his anger to stop him from jumping up and hugging her like his heart wanted so badly to do.

"Well, Angela brought me home and as I mentioned," she began to explain, "I had an interaction that caused me a great deal of discomfort."

"Interaction, interaction my butt, Bones," he almost yelled at her. "Quit trying to evade the question with your scientific mumbo jumbo and just tell me what the hell happened."

"Fine," she said. "I wasn't thinking clearly," she hoped he wouldn't read too much into that part and wonder what had distracted her. She almost never had problems with her reasoning skills, especially when she wasn't medicated. She just allowed those words to slip out and quickly had to rephrase in effort to cover. "I wasn't paying attention to my actions and I put my entire weight on my left foot. When I did," she went on, "I fell backwards. Apparently, my ankle joint isn't strong enough to support the weight of my body," she continued to explain. "Upon falling backward, my back and rib cage contacted the arm of that chair," she motioned to the offending chair. "It was quite painful but I am recovering satisfactorily," she finished hoping he wouldn't question any further.

"That's it?" he questioned.

She rolled her eyes. She should have known his alpha male tendencies wouldn't allow him to withhold questioning. "Well, to answer your other questions," she decided to roll the answers out as quickly as he'd asked them. "Yes, I saw a doctor. He said that I loosened the ankle joint slightly and my. . ._interaction_ with the chair fractured three ribs," she didn't look him in the eye as she spoke. "I tried calling Angela who was busy with Hodgins. I didn't call you because you had recently received a work related injury and I assumed you needed time to recuperate without worrying about your . . . _your partner_."

That was it. Booth understood at that very moment what the problem was. He saw her eyes when she said '_your partner.'_ It wasn't that she was physically hurt. She was emotionally crushed. It was that one simple word, partner. He recalled that simple phrase in the emergency room and knew that this whole mess was his fault. '_Damn it Seeley,'_ he thought to himself. '_You managed to screw up 4 years worth of work in 40 seconds.'_ He knew the damage had been done and that he would be the one that had to fix it.

He nodded at her. He could spend the time and energy trying to apologize but knew they would simply fall on deaf ears. She didn't want to hear it. He'd have to show her. If he knew one thing, it was that Temperance Brennan gave trust away selectively. Right now, she didn't trust him so apologies would be futile. He only hoped that somehow, someway he could figure out a way to regain her trust.

"I'm sorry that you got hurt again, Bones," he said. He was careful not to apologize for doing anything wrong right now. "Can I do anything for you?" he asked. He kept his tone light and friendly.

"No, I don't think so," she answered. "I'm actually feeling markedly better," she went on. "Dr. Jameson said that I would just need to take things slowly until Monday or so. I'm sure I will be fine by then," she assured him. "I was just planning on working on my book some this afternoon and making a few phone calls. I am supposed to have a book signing in the mountains late next week. I need to confirm some reservations with my publicist."

He had his excuse to extend the first peace offering. "Alright, Bones. You know what? I took the day off. I'm going to run pick up some Thai and I'll be back shortly. Get all of your phone calls made and we can watch a movie. You don't need to work on your book today. All the typing could aggravate your ribs, you know, make the carpal tunnel worse or something," he said as he shot her a charm smile. He knew that carpal tunnel had nothing to do with the ribs but part of getting her back on his side, regaining her trust, would be getting under her skin.

"Booth, you know that carpal tunnel involves the carpal bones that make up the wrist. It has nothing to do with my fracture ribs," she fussed. "Besides, I don't have carpal tunnel."

"Whatever you say, Bones, whatever you say," he said as he headed out the door in search of metaphorical olive branches.


	54. Time and Space

**A/N – Thanks for waiting somewhat patiently for the update guys. I really appreciate all of the encouragement and feedback you guys send. I will always be amazed that people actually enjoy the things my mind generates. **

**I know it's been a while since I updated but life just gets in the way from time to time-or most of the time for that matter. It seems things are finally beginning to settle down around here with hockey season coming to a close. Maybe I'll be able to update more quickly. I can promise that I will try and that I will finish all of my stories. Everything happens eventually, right?**

**This chapter isn't the most amazing chapter, but it's setting the stage for what I want to come. I promise that what we all want will arrive sooner rather than later. **

**Please continue to let me know what you think. I plan on updating this story a couple of times before I go back to my others. I have to go where the muse is pointing at the moment. I actually have parts of the next chapter written so there is hope. **

**As always, thanks to MickeyBoggs for her proofing skills and DVApples, StefJunkiecat and Thnx4theGum for giving me guidance and direction. This story would be much lower quality without you guys.**

Chapter 54

The weekend passed quickly for both of the partially disgruntled partners. As promised, Booth took off on Friday and hung around her place. They spent the day together in tense companionship. Booth brought over Thai for lunch as his peace offering. They ate and carried on casual but slightly strained conversation.

When they had finished, he packaged the leftovers for her and did his best to get Brennan to let him help her out but he was constantly met with her protests. She insisted that she would just hire someone to clean her house and do her laundry. She always dropped all of her dress clothes at the dry cleaner anyway so she didn't need that much help.

Throughout Booth's entire visit, she was very logical and methodical in her attempts to convince her partner that she would be fine without his help. She had been alone for a decade and a half and she could survive that way the rest of her life. She did, however, allow him to stick around and watch some television with her. She still enjoyed his company even In Booth's opinion, it wasn't much, but it was a start.

Finally, late Friday evening, Booth had conceded to her protests and left. He didn't want to leave but she wasn't opening up to him. He knew better than anyone that no matter how many olive branches he offered, she wouldn't come around until she was completely ready and had everything worked out in her mind, that beautiful mind of hers. "Bones," he'd said as he was leaving. "If you need anything, anything at all, you call me."

"I'll be fine Booth," she responded. "I don't have any plans to need assistance with anything," she had continued. "You know," she said in a slightly uncertain voice. "You might take this opportunity to go visit your grandfather. You haven't seen him in quite a while." She hated pushing him away, but she couldn't be around him right now. She knew that bringing up his biological family might be the only way to get him to give her some space, space she desperately needed.

"Bones," he argued. "I don't want to leave you. I mean," he stammered. "What if you need something or hurt yourself again?" he did his best to come up with a reason, any reason, to stick around.

"Booth, I'm fine and will be fine," her voice was completely resolute as she spoke but she could tell he wasn't convinced so she continued. "I talked to my publisher this morning and I have to leave after work on Wednesday for a ski resort in Pennsylvania," she wasn't looking forward to all of the signings and even the speech she was going to have to give, but at least it was a distraction from all of her problems at the moment. She'd managed to take care of herself for over 30 years and maybe this trip was exactly what she needed to regroup and get everything back in order. "I'm going to rest all weekend and then I'll just work in limbo until I leave on Wednesday," she gained confidence as she spoke. "Once I get to the resort, I'll be able to take things slowly there since she usually sets me up with all of the luxury services," she finished and looked at him to determine if he was convinced. He clearly wasn't.

"Besides, I am quite capable of taking care of myself. I have no intention of doing anything that would risk injuring myself further and even if I did, I wouldn't require your assistance," she used those words on purpose. She knew they'd hurt him but she needed him to go. "I could always call my father or Angela," she said.

Her thoughts told her the complete opposite-she couldn't call Angela. She'd tried that and clearly Angela was too busy to assist her. She could call her father but she still had a hard time needing him. She would just have to rely on herself. '_Temperance,' _she told herself. '_You aren't going to need them anyway. Your osteocytes will be doing an adequate job of healing the oblique fractures. The likelihood of reinjury is minimal.' _ She knew that she would be fine but she'd gotten used to having Booth around. It would just take some time to get used to being alone again. She was adaptive and a fast learner. She'd be fine soon.

With that final insistence, Booth gave up and got ready to leave. He knew when he'd been defeated and that the time wasn't right. She wasn't ready to forgive him yet. He decided as he crossed her threshold and told her goodnight that he'd go visit Pops in Pennsylvania for a few days. He'd give Bones the time she needed and when she came back from her book signing conference thing, he'd work his magic.

He heard the door lock behind him. For a few seconds, he considered turning around, going back in, or maybe even breaking down the door. He didn't, though. He simply placed his forehead on her door for a few seconds before saying, "I'm sorry, Bones." He knew he needed to say it to her face but it wasn't time yet. He'd get there with time.

****

By Monday morning, Brennan was feeling a little more like herself. She'd managed to rest, ice her ribs and ankle, and even get a little writing done in the quiet of her apartment over the weekend. She was a little less emotional and was, in her opinion, beginning to compartmentalize. By her estimation, another week or so and she'd be able to face Booth without bursting into tears or throwing herself into his arms.

She hated doing all of the things required of a bestselling author but conceded that this time in the mountains might be a good thing for her. She needed time and space and a cabin in the mountains alone was definitely space.

She hadn't spoken to Booth since she'd basically kicked him out Friday evening. He did text her a couple of times inquiring how she was doing and both times she informed him that she was fine and that she hoped he was having fun with his grandfather. She'd kept her messages simple and professional. She hadn't given him more than the basic information and he'd clearly gotten the message that she didn't want to talk.

When she got out of bed that morning, she had considered calling Angela for a ride that morning but quickly chose otherwise. She didn't really want to disturb her in whatever she was doing. Since calling Angela was out of the question at the moment, Brennan did what she typically did, took care of herself.

When she got to work, she stopped in her office to check emails. She had received a brief email from Cam informing her that Angela had emailed earlier. She and Hodgins wouldn't be coming in for the next couple of days. Apparently, Hodgins had contracted whatever infection had plagued the artist the previous week. They would both be out until Thursday or so.

The scientific side of Brennan couldn't understand that decision. _'How could they possibly know days in advance that they wouldn't be able to work until Thursday?' _she thought to herself. She quickly pushed the thoughts from her mind, concluded that they were probably just making up for lost time in their relationship by using the illness as an excuse and finished checking her email before heading to limbo.

Deep down, she knew Angela was her best friend and that she would always be there for her but she also knew that her best friend was very easily distracted. So many qualities the forensic artist possessed were the qualities Brennan disliked about nonscientists and especially artists. They were spur of the moment, non-deliberative, and, for lack of a better word, flighty. She wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but she knew it had something to do with disorganization and focus. She made a mental note to look it up online or to ask Booth if the opportunity arose.

Angela was a great friend, she really was, but she just got wrapped up in things from time to time. It was like a cycle with her. Sometimes, she'd focus completely on Brennan but other times, it would be as if the anthropologist didn't exist. Brennan had learned to tolerate it over the years. She knew that eventually her friend would regain her focus and come back around. It was a cycle and right now she was in the unfocused stage. The good friend in Brennan knew she'd just have to give her some time and space and she'd come back around. She always did.

Despite the discomfort it caused, Brennan made her way from her office and was situated in limbo before security even disengaged the night alarms. The efficient anthropologist was able to complete the identification of several sets of war remains over the next three days since things in the lab were amazingly quiet. Cam was quite busy with financial meetings so she mostly worked alone. There was the occasional interruption by the misguided intern who needed help discerning the pisiform from the hamate but other than that she reveled in the quiet that lasted until she prepared to leave on Wednesday.

******

Wednesday afternoon around 5 pm, the partners found themselves completing similar tasks even though they were separated by many, many miles and emotions. Brennan was directing one of her many assistants as to which suitcases needed to be loaded into her SUV and Booth loaded the car in his grandfather's driveway. Brennan's publisher had dropped off a couple of suitcases earlier in the day. One of them contained all of the materials for the book signing and conference, one contained some items she'd need in coming weeks and the final one held her personal items and toiletries for the trip.

"Please load the larger suitcase and the green one into the back of my SUV," she had asked the assistant. "Place the red one into the storage closet down the hall," she went on. "I won't require its contents for several weeks. I'll be leaving soon, so if Dr. Saroyan doesn't need your help, you may leave for the day." She was remotely kind in her words but couldn't even remember the name of the assistant. There were so many of them that she didn't busy herself with learning names. She made sure they all received the appropriate appreciation gifts at the typical times such as Christmas and Administrative Assistant's day.

After another hour, Brennan shut down her computer, loaded her laptop and necessary files into her backpack and made her way out of the lab. She was actually happy to be leaving. She hadn't been sleeping well lately and was still very uncomfortable from her rib fractures. She did make a quick visit to Dr. Jameson's office before work that morning. Follow up x-rays showed that cartilaginous calluses were indeed forming on the oblique fractures of her ribs and that her ankle was stable. Jameson told her to continue to take it easy and rest when she was uncomfortable but that she would be clear to begin physical therapy again the following Monday.

It finally appeared that she was beginning to make the needed strides toward recovery. She would be able to return to her normal life soon. It would be Halloween the following week and she was nearly six weeks post surgery and seven weeks since she made the stupid mistake at karate class by performing the risky high kick. Jameson had briefly mentioned that she was just beyond the halfway point of her non-weight bearing recovery time. They would look at scheduling her screw and plate removal at her next checkup in two weeks. She looked forward to the time when she would be able to take a step on her left foot one more time. The injury was really impacting her more than she would have liked or even imagined.

With all of her loose ends taken care of nothing that couldn't wait until she returned to work on Monday, she headed out of the office. She quickly programmed her GPS for Mercersburg, Pennsylvania and began her trip to her short retreat.

*****

Booth finished up dinner with his grandfather and then set out to make the trip back to DC. He enjoyed the time away, but he needed to get back to work and back to his partner. He had time to think and he was ready to fix things, to admit his feelings. He just needed to complete the task of getting back to DC and finding the time and opportunity to sit down and talk with the woman he knew he loved.

Booth had been driving for around an hour and a half when his cell phone rang. He had been in a trance for most of the trip but was still very aware of the road and driving conditions. The rain was beating down on his SUV and he could tell that it was the coldest night of the fall so far and that winter was definitely on the way. He didn't recognize the number so he flipped his phone open quickly. "Booth," he said. His tone immediately became more serious. "What? Where?" he questioned as he flipped on his siren. "I'm about 25 miles from there. I'll be there soon. Thanks." He had hoped he'd never have to use any of the safety nets he put in place to make sure his partner was always well taken care of, even when he wasn't around, but tonight he did and he was glad he'd taken all of the necessary precautions.

**A/N – I'll give you a hint-It's not what you think and no, I am not hurting Brennan again.**


	55. Failures and Precautions

**A/N – Wow – are you guys impressed that I'm giving you 2 updates in less than a week? Hopefully it won't disappoint. I actually intended to go MUCH further with this chapter but it was getting really long. I'm hoping to keep writing pretty quickly so I won't keep them apart much longer. I can promise in the next couple of chapters lots of fluff will be on the way. I'm not the best fluff writer but I can promise I will try to do my best.**

**Thanks for all of the reviews on the last chapter. You guys are great readers and I'm glad you are still enjoying the story. Please continue to let me know what you think. I appreciate any feedback I can get.**

**I am planning on updating my other stories soon, but this is my first beast and I wanted to get it rolling again and hopefully finish it up in the next couple of months. **

**Thanks to MickeyBoggs for proofing and to Thnx4theGum and StefJunkiecat for keeping me on track!**

Disclaimer – I am in no way associated with the TV show Bones.

Chapter 55

Temperance Brennan wasn't sure that she had ever driven on a night quite as dark as the current one. The rain pelted at her car and the wind threatened to topple her over like one of the Matchbox cars little boys, regardless of socioeconomic level, seemed to love. She had been driving for just over two hours and on a typical day she would be reaching her destination at any moment. Today, however, she had only just exited the interstate and would still have a 45 minute drive up to the resort area.

Letting out a huge sigh, she rolled her neck in an attempt to release some pressure that had been building up. She was miserable and exhausted. Her ribs had started throbbing intensely after only an hour of driving and the change in barometric pressure due to the storm was apparently bothering her battered ankle joint. She considered pulling over and downing a dose of medication but decided that was not a safe decision. She needed to be fully alert due to the weather. That would just require being alert to the pain and pressing through. She'd been to this resort before and knew that a warm, comfortable bed would be awaiting her. She visualized herself wrapped in the warm, chenille robe and curled under a soft duvet watching an old movie on the plasma screen television that was always in the bedroom. She sighed again and turned the heat and radio up slightly to help her make it through the final leg of the trip. She checked the gauges on her dash and noticed the temperature. It had been dropping steadily for the past few days and the temperature that night was predicted to plummet to a record low of 22 degrees. Thankfully, ice was not an issue since it was only currently hovering around freezing. That probably would not be the case in another few hours, however. That was even more reason for the warm bed in her cabin to be appealing.

She'd probably only driven another five miles or so when the trouble hit. The first sign could have been easily missed. As she rounded a curve, her phone beeped. She blindly picked it up, confused because she didn't recognize the tone. After she safely maneuvered through the curve she glanced at the screen. '_That's odd,'_ she thought to herself. '_It's been plugged in since I got in the car.'_ The low battery indicator was blinking angrily. She simply unplugged and replugged the charger into her outlet. Despite her efforts, she could not get the phone to charge. She conceded that she would need to purchase a new car charger and simply sat the phone back into the seat beside her, confident that she wouldn't need it much and that the battery would last in case of an emergency for the remainder of the trip as long as she didn't use it. She had plugged it in as soon as she got in the car. The battery had only 50 percent power then. She inwardly chastised herself for forgetting to charge it the night before but nothing could be done about that now.

Just as soon as she had refocused on the road the next sign of problems began. As she was driving, the radio began to crackle, almost unnoticeably at first. After a few seconds, however, the crackles increased and before she even had time to hypothesize as to the cause she heard a loud pop followed by silence and blackness. Her dash lights, radio and all other electrical devices in the interior of her car went out. "Damn it," she said loudly as she pulled over briefly.

She wasn't in a location very conducive to pulling over so she made her stop very brief. There was almost no shoulder and considering the amount of rain that was beating down at the moment she knew that even if there was a shoulder, it would not be wise to pull onto it. She would most likely get stuck if she tried. She simply pulled over for just a second, fiddled with a few knobs, and let out a huge sigh of frustration. Despite her turning of the knobs, nothing happened. She knew it wasn't safe to stay for long so she made sure that her lights still worked and got on her way. She would have to be extremely careful since none of her dash indicators worked. She would not be able to monitor her speed or engine status. By her estimate, she was only about thirty minutes from the resort if she drove at a normal pace. She assumed that now it would take her even longer.

Brennan's current situation really bothered her. She was clearly not having a good day or good autumn for that matter. If she had found herself in this situation six months ago, she would have called Booth. Now, she was committed to taking care of herself. She simply needed to get to the cabin and then she could call a mechanic to take care of things for her. Worst case scenario, she'd just buy a new car and have it delivered before she headed back to DC.

Since the electrical systems of her car were currently on the brink, she couldn't make an adequate estimate as to the amount of time that had passed or the number of additional miles she had driven but it most certainly hadn't been long before a bad situation became a disastrous situation. The entire time was a blur when she thought back to it. It all happened very quickly. She first noticed a faint but present electrical burning smell followed quickly with an electrical pop that preceded her heat going out. She'd barely had time to process the loss of heat before there was another disturbing pop followed by nothing. Her car simply stopped. She reacted rather quickly and applied the brakes as she descended a small hill, coming to a very frustrated stop at the bottom.

At the bottom of the hill she paused only briefly to allow her head to contact the steering wheel out of frustration. She knew she didn't have the time or the opportunity to waste. Even if the roads weren't slippery, it would have been dangerous to stop where she was currently positioned. She had managed to pull slightly onto the shoulder but there wasn't much room. She quickly determined that staying in the car would not be a good decision. The road was quiet and she hadn't seen another car in the last 10 or so minutes but she knew the road wasn't exactly remote and that people traveled it quite often. If someone coming down that hill wasn't paying attention, they could easily hit her car. She decided that she had to go to work quickly. She didn't want to move, but she knew she had to.

She reached into the back seat to grab her coat and gingerly put it on her throbbing body. She knew she had to work quickly since all of the lights on her car were out. She could call emergency assistance after she made a few preparations. She was slowed by her crutches but made her way to the back of her small SUV. She knew that Booth had placed an emergency kit in the back. She retrieved the flares from the kit and quickly and painfully walked the recommended 100 feet away and placed 2 of the flares behind the vehicle. She couldn't help but be nervous due to her vulnerable position. Here she was, on crutches placing flares in the pouring rain.

She managed to place two other flares in front of the car. She was shivering by the time she finished. Her one good foot was muddy and water was rolling down her face despite the parka she was wearing. She retrieved her phone from the front passenger seat and made one phone call. The roadside assistance service managed to quickly get her location from her GPS and assured her that help would be on its way briefly. They offered to contact local law enforcement officials for her but she insisted that it wasn't a matter of public safety and did not require additional assistance. She knew she should probably allow someone to assist her and knew that Booth would be unbelievably angry if he found out she had declined help but she figured he would never find out. She certainly wasn't going to call him.

She hung up with the roadside assistance operator and decided that she needed to move away from her car in case another car passed by carelessly. She hadn't really paid much attention to the temperature as she placed the flares but she suddenly became keenly aware of her body temperature. She was wet, tired, and achy. She backed up to a tree and eased down. It couldn't have been more than five minutes before her body started shivering in effort to keep her body temperature from falling. She drew her legs to her body in effort to make herself as small as possible and retain as much body heat as possible. She understood the biology behind it but at the time it was quite hard to wrap her mind around how she could be freezing but burning from fatigue, exhaustion, and injury at the same time. She knew that assistance would be there soon but she illogically worried that she might freeze to death if no one came.

*****

Booth knew that his partner would be more than pissed when she found out that he had put an alert on her roadside assistance account. Any activity, even an inquiry, would immediately require his notification. He, unlike his partner, believed in fate. He knew that it wasn't a coincidence that he was on his way back from his grandfather's house and less that 15 miles from her current location when he was notified that she had reported a major car break down and would require a tow. He worried about her and tried calling her cell. Each time, he was greeted with her voicemail. This only added to his concern. As much as she would try to convince him otherwise, he knew she wasn't in top form. She was injured, emotional, and probably scared. He knew her better than anyone else and knew that beneath that tough outer layer she was probably overly emotional and felt more than anyone.

What Booth didn't know, or would have ever imagined, was that she would be without any heat. He just assumed that she would be sitting inside her warm car possibly with a flat tire or something. Normally she would have been well equipped to change a tire on her own but he knew that at this point she would have to call for assistance since there was no way she could have changed a tire with her ankle injured. He snickered slightly when he figured she probably tried before relenting and calling for help.

It did, however, hurt his heart when he realized she hadn't called him. Even in the beginnings of their relationship she would have called him just to inform him of her status. Now, he realized just how much ground he had to make up with her. It was going to be risky. He could ruin it all by one simple admission or it could repair things in a matter of minutes. He hoped for the best but prepared for the worst.

His GPS beeped informing him of a final turn before he would reach her. It was only a matter of seconds before he saw the road flares and smiled with pride that she had actually listened to one of his many safety speeches.

*****

She was cold, she was tired, and she was in pain. She couldn't be exactly sure which one was causing her more discomfort but she knew that if the tow truck didn't get there soon she was going to be in quite a predicament. She considered, for just a moment, climbing back into her car to have more protection from the wind and pelting rain. As she stood and started back toward the small SUV, a car passed by in a flash narrowly missing the car. She decided at that moment that going back to the car, no matter how appealing, wouldn't be safe. She again leaned against a tree with her eyes set in the direction she knew her help would be traveling from.

She knew by her symptoms of intense shivering, numbness in her fingers and toes, consistently increasing exhaustion that her body temperature had dropped a couple of degrees in her time in the rains. If she didn't begin to warm up soon, she would require treatment for hypothermia. She did her best to move around a little in effort to generate some body heat and keep her temperature from dipping any further. She could have easily counted the number of seconds that had passed before she saw the first lights of help. She hated to be melodramatic or sentimental but she couldn't help but think that those lights represented salvation. She blamed the irrational thoughts to her drop in body temperature and exhaustion.

She rolled her eyes when it registered that there was a blue flashing light accompanying the headlights approaching out of the darkness of night. She had told the operator that she didn't require law enforcement assistance but by that point she honestly didn't care who it was. She only cared about the fact that they most likely had heat in their vehicle and could give her a ride to her cabin where she could warm up. She would use their cell phone to provide instructions as to the towing of her SUV and within minutes she could be on her way to her cabin. By her estimate, it was only a ten mile drive to her cabin and she would be able to climb into a nice warm shower and collapse into the bed.

The rather large SUV approached and came to a stop just behind her SUV. The occupant climbed out and began to approach her. She immediately became concerned that she was already severely hypothermic since she had to be seeing things. The form that approached her resembled Booth and she immediately became a little faint as the image became clearer. She reached out to the tree beside her to stabilize herself before she passed out. The figure never spoke, merely approached and stood just in front of her. At that very moment, she realized that either a dream or a nightmare had just come true. "Booth. . . ." she shakily spoke. "How the hell?!?!"


	56. Now or Never

**A/N - School year is finally beginning to slow down and I'm hoping to be able to write a little bit more often. No promises but I am going to try and finish all of my stories before August. I am going to be posting the first chapter of another one soon as well. I have struggled with whether or not to post it but I'm afraid if I wait I'll miss an opportunity to get a fic in before the tone of various relationships on the show change. That's all I'm going to say about that. **

**Anyway - this is the start of what so many of you have been waiting for in this story. I hope it doesn't let you down. It's a little shorter than my typical but hopefully I'll get the next chap done soon for you guys.**

**Thank you so much for all of the reviews, DMs and follows of this story. It's nice to see that 56 chapters in people are still interested. I hope you all continue to let me know what you think!**

**Thanks as always to StefJunkieCat and Thnx4theGum for being my idea bouncers and to MickeyBoggs for her mad proofing skills. You guys rock.**

Disclaimer - I am in no way connected to the show Bones!

Chapter 56

Temperance Brennan wasn't unsure of many things in her current life. Typically, she could easily remain calm and collected and knew how to respond in most situations. At that exact moment, however, she was sure of nothing. She couldn't be sure that she wasn't hallucinating. She couldn't be sure that she wasn't slipping into some type of shock. She couldn't even trust her own mind and body. '_There is no way Booth could be here,' _she managed to think. '_I have to be hallucinating. I didn't even tell Angela exactly where I was going,'_ she continued thinking before she spoke.

The figure she thought was a hallucination continued to approach her and through the rain and darkness, their eyes met. When she saw the depth of his eyes and got a slight whiff of his scent, she knew he was real. In many ways, this angered her beyond measure and in other ways she wanted to jump (metaphorically speaking) into his arms. She wanted to allow him to protect her, to warm her and make everything better. Her rational mind, however, didn't want to let go of control. She had to maintain her composure and stand on her own feet.

She prepared for the battle she knew would follow her next words. '_Booth,' _she attempted to load her voice with fire. '_How the hell?_' she asked.

"That's not the issue here, Bones," he bantered back while positioning the umbrella over her. "The issue is how you are standing out here in the freezing rain and about to turn into a squintcicle," he made sure his tone was resolute. "Let's get you in the car."

She viewed his words as a challenge. '_How dare he think I can't take care of myself,'_ she thought to herself. "I am perfectly fine, Agent Booth. The roadside assistance company will be her shortly and will be able to arrange a ride for me to my cabin," she said with fire in her voice as she backed away from him and out from under the protection of his umbrella.

"DAMN IT BONES!" Booth snapped. "If you were fine, your teeth wouldn't be chattering and you wouldn't be dripping wet. It's cold, you're hurt, and I don't even want to know how in the hell you managed to set those flares out but at least for once you listened to me," he was not going to let her push him away this time. It was now or never. "Now get your rear end in the car and let's get you to the cabin before you end up with pneumonia."

She wasn't sure why she did it. Maybe it was the rain, maybe it was her injury, maybe it was the beginning stages of hypothermia and her neurons were not functioning at her usually rational levels, but for some reason, she walked past the FBI Agent and climbed into the SUV.

She shut the door and settled into the seat. Booth had left the SUV running and had obviously cranked up the heat in anticipation of her presence. She was just beginning to relax and allow her head to rest on the headrest when the door opening startled her. "Here, Bones," Booth said as he handed her a blanket. "Cover up with that and you probably need to take those wet shoes off," he went on.

She considered challenging his advice and informing him of the wilderness training but decided it would require too much energy. She, instead, nodded and took the offered blanket.

"I just called and they said the wrecker would be here in five minutes. As soon as they get here, we'll get you out of here," he allowed himself to check her over as he spoke. She seemed alright; just cold and uncomfortable, for that he was thankful. It could have been much, much worse.

Less than five minutes later, another set of flashing lights pulled up. Booth could be heard talking to the service man briefly, loading her suitcases into the back of the SUV and when finished he climbed into his seat in the car. "Alright, Bones," he began. "Hospital or cabin?" he asked hoping that she'd be honest with him about her current condition and not attempt to evade or sugar coat.

"You can drop me off at the cabin," she said intentionally.

Booth let out an exasperated sigh. "Bones, you need to calm down. It's late, I'm wet, and there is no way I'm driving back into DC tonight. You're stuck with me," he took another deep breath. "Besides, we need to talk."

Those four words made Temperance Brennan consider throwing herself out of the moving vehicle. She didn't want to talk. Talking would not help her compartmentalize and move on. Talking would only make her more emotional. She had to stop things before they went any further. "Booth, I am not up to talking at the moment. I simply want to take a hot shower and crawl into a warm bed," she protested. "You are welcome to stay at the cabin tonight but I'm sure your 'partner' requires your assistance in DC in the morning and I have an event tomorrow evening."

Seeley Booth, at that moment, had had enough. He wasn't going to play games any longer. It was time. He slammed on the brakes of the SUV and pulled into the circular drive of a scenic overlook that he was sure fate had placed there just for this very moment. He switched off the car, heat and all. He needed her undivided attention.

"Bones. . . Temperance, I need you to listen to me," he pleaded. "Put your anthropological mind in park and just let me talk. You have to understand a few things," he said as he pulled his poker chip out of his pocket and began fiddling with it. "I," he stammered not knowing where to start. "I hurt you when I called Nichols my partner. I know I did. You'll rationalize it all day long and come to the conclusion that medication or some other stupid scientific process has made you feel overly emotional or whatever but I know it really hurt you."

"When we started working together, it was a completely parasitic opportunity for me. You gave me what I needed and I really didn't care how our working together impacted you. I was a rookie agent and I needed to get where I wanted to be. You were a way to get me there. That's why I did what I did on the Maggie Shilling case. Your feelings were not important. I needed to win," he continued and did his best to keep the tears from spilling out as he thought about the betrayal. "When I saw what I did to you that day, it nearly broke my heart, though. I realized at that moment that you were very good at covering things up but that you felt more than anyone I've ever seen. I saw how other people just discounted your feelings and treated you like crap. Stires did it. He dragged your name through the mud on the stand and then tried to hit on you again. I swore to myself at that very moment that I would never do that to you. I saw that you had real feelings and that you probably felt things more than anyone I'd ever met, Bones."

She didn't speak but he clearly had her attention. He paused momentarily to plan his next move and noticed that her teeth were still chattering and she was shivering uncontrollably. He turned the engine back on and cranked the heat back up. "Just give me a couple of more minutes, Bones, alright?" he hoped she wouldn't lash out at him.

She gave him a quick nod and he started again. "I'm not sure when it happened, Bones but somehow I became enamored with you. I saw how you gave funerals to victims that didn't have families or the money to afford proper burials. I saw how you worked through the loss and the regaining of your own family and I realized that you were the most amazing, most beautiful, most intelligent, and most loving person I've ever know. Bones, I fell in love with you," he said and it was as if a weight was lifted from his shoulders. He'd said it. It was almost as if he was guilty of a crime and had finally confessed and readied himself for the consequences. "Bones, I know I said I'd take a bullet for anyone who was my partner, and I would but that's just my dedication to service. I'd do more than take a bullet for you, Bones, you have to know that. I'd go to the end of the earth and sell my soul to the devil if it saved you any pain, Temperance," he ran his hand over his face again. "I love you Temperance Brennan and no matter how you react, I always will."

That was it. He was done. He looked at her and waited.

Booth hated silence, he really did but silence was what he got for what he was sure was the next two hours. In actuality it was only about 45 seconds. "Booth, I . . . I really don't know what to say. I'm not sure of anything right now. Can you promise me one thing?" she asked.

"Anything, Bones, anything," was his simple reply.

She shivered a little and took a shallow breath. "Can you promise me that no matter how I react that you'll be patient with me and not give up on me?"

She wasn't sure why she had said that. She never doubted Booth's love for her. She knew he was honest and genuine. She did, however doubt her ability to effectively give love to someone.

"I promise, Bones," he said and then put the car into drive. What surprised him was that a small, very cold hand reached over and intertwined with his. At that very moment, he knew that no matter what, things were going to be okay. She was Temperance Brennan and she was going to try. Just like everything else she did, she never failed.


	57. You Never Have To

**A/N – Alright guys, sorry for the LONG wait AGAIN but as promised an update will eventually come until this beast of a story is finished and that will happen eventually. Everything happens eventually, right? **

**As of right now, I have right around a month left in the school year and then I have my nice, long vacation. Let's just hope the muse flows nicely during that break. I'll have the time to write, I'm just hoping for the inspiration to be there. **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter. I considered going on and putting the next chapter's content in here, but this part was finished and seemed like a legit stopping point. Hopefully, I won't make you wait too long on the next one.**

**Thanks so much for all of the reviews and messages. You guys are great. Please continue to let me know what you think even if you hate it. I appreciate any feedback I can get.**

**Thanks to GCatsPJs and Junkiecat for helping me get my ideas rolling and to MickeyBoggs for proofing. You gals are great.**

_Disclaimer – I don't own Bones_

Chapter 57

Booth adjusted the heat in the luxurious cabin. They had arrived just a few minutes earlier and he helped his real partner get into the bathroom and ran her a nice warm bath in the oversized tub. '_That tub is bigger than mine,'_ he thought to himself. Brennan had been very quiet for the duration of the ride up to the mountain. Booth had sent the GPS information from Brennan's phone to his and they arrived within 15 minutes.

She hadn't protested at all when he helped her inside and immediately helped her into the bedroom area. He helped her into a chair in the large sitting area adjacent to her bathroom and then went to retrieve her suitcases. He brought them in and found her removing the wrap from her leg.

"Do you need anything else," he asked after he situated her suitcases for her. She shook her head and he took it as his cue to leave.

He had barely made it into the hall when he heard her call his name. "Booth?"

He managed not to run or bust through the door. He found her wrapped in a fluffy towel staring at two open suitcases. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Please tell me there was another suitcase you didn't bring in," she practically begged.

He shook his head. "Just those two, Bones. What's the matter?"

She was determined not to let the tears that had been pricking her eyes spill out. "These are both from my publisher. My assistant must have put the wrong one in the storage closet at the lab," she sounded heartbroken.

Booth was always quick on his feet. "You have a change of clothes in my SUV in your kit, right?" he asked.

She nodded, not encouraged at all. "That at least gets me some clean panties and a bra but I really don't feel up to sleeping in jeans and a blouse," she pouted.

"It's alright, Bones," he said as he did the unthinkable and pulled the towel clad anthropologist gently into a hug. "I'll make sure you have something by the time you get finished in the bath. Now, go get in the bath, you are still freezing."

She nodded with her head still against his protective chest.

Booth released her and gave her a supporting hand as she grasped the wall to go back into the extra large bath area and closed the door behind her. She took a deep breath as she entered and realized that Booth had poured a copious amount of chamomile bath oil into the tub. She immediately began to warm from the inside out. She couldn't be sure if it was the thought of him or the steamy air that warmed her. She couldn't decide which one she hoped it was.

Her thoughts spiraled as she sunk into the deep tub and allowed the water to warm her. Her body ached and she knew she would soon require some medication. She assumed the mixture of cold and adrenaline had stifled her pain while she was out in the rain. The pain would probably increase as the adrenaline wore off.

She didn't know what to think about Booth's admission. She didn't even know what love was so how could she know if she loved him? She did know that he kept her safe, he would never hurt her, and that she had a feeling when he walked into a room. The feeling rushed over her as she thought about him. It was a feeling of warmth and comfort. At that very moment, she decided that she'd take a step and let him in. She could give him her metaphorical heart.

The possibilities scared her. She knew he'd never hurt her intentionally but she was afraid of what she might do to him. She made a commitment to herself that she would do whatever she could to guard his heart. She would put his heart before her mind and give this relationship that he wanted a chance. She could do this for him but she also wanted to do it for herself. She knew she had never bonded with anyone like she had bonded with Booth. Maybe some things would be worth it no matter the risk.

She sunk a little deeper into the deep, warm tub and did her best to relax.

Booth ran back out to the SUV and brought in his suitcases. He busied himself getting things ready for her. He knew she was hurting, physically and emotionally. He'd seen her wince with every movement and also saw the fear in her eyes. He needed to make sure that all of her physical needs were taken care of.

He situated his suitcases in one of the two extra bedrooms and quickly began to dig inside. He found a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. He pulled them from the bag and after making a quick stop in the hall closet, headed into the laundry room.

His next stop was the kitchen. The pantry was well stocked and he plundered through the cans and non-perishables. His eyes lit up when he saw the packages of soup mixes and with the clank of a few pots he had the soup simmering on the stovetop.

He looked at his watch and realized that she'd been in the bath for around half an hour. He knew she'd probably fallen asleep and that it couldn't be good for her body temperature. He considered his options for a few more minutes and decided he had to get her out.

He grabbed a few things out of the laundry room and was quickly rapping on the door to the bath area. "Bones," he spoke calmly as he knocked. "Bones. . . we need to get you out of there," he said. "Can you do it?" he asked.

"Mmmmm," she mumbled unintelligibly as she realized she was sitting in now lukewarm water.

"Bones?" he asked again.

She began to stir a little. "I . . . I think I can manage," she said hoping that it was true and that her own body wouldn't betray her.

He detected a little doubt in her answer but knew she needed to do some things on her own. "Okay," he said. "I'm putting some stuff right here for you," he finished and cracked the door. He quickly dropped a few things on the small cart beside the tub careful to keep his back to her. He didn't want to scare her by giving her any idea that he was peeking at her. Sure, she always said she wasn't a modest person but he knew she worried about how she looked.

She ever-so-gently pulled herself up, wincing as her core ached due to her ribs. She managed to carefully sit herself on the edge of the tub and pulled at the towels Booth had brought in. She realized through her haze that he had put them in the dryer to warm them up. She carefully dried off and then grabbed the robe that was also warm from the dryer. The twisting motion required to put the robe on was quite painful but well worth it when she was able to revel in the warmth the soft, terry cloth fabric offered. It was still fluffy and warm from the dryer.

"Booth," she called when she was ready to leave the confines of the small bath area. She couldn't be sure why she called him. She had her crutches and she didn't need anything. She just wanted his comfort, his reassurance. It was completely illogical but she didn't care. She just needed to know that he was there, that he was hers. She had questioned that over the last few days but apparently her reasoning had been wrong. '_Tomorrow_,' she thought to herself, '_I'll question how he knew that my car was messed up but today I'm just glad he knew._'

"Hey," his comforting voice floated in through the recently cracked door. "Ready?" he questioned.

"Yeah," she answered and began to make her way out of the room.

He studied her a little bit and saw that she was hurting. "I'm sorry, Bones," he said. He hoped that she understood that he was sorry for more than just her physical pain. He was sorry for causing her any emotional trauma or pain as well.

She stopped and looked at him with her pained, weary eyes. "It's not your fault, Booth," she said and she meant it. Her misinterpretation of emotional things couldn't be blamed on him and he certainly wasn't responsible for her physical pain. She knew this, but also knew that behind those brown caring eyes was a guilt-ridden man.

He gave her a nod and considered picking her up and carrying her to save her any pain but he couldn't quite decipher the look in her eyes. They were somewhere in between insecurity and fear and since he couldn't quite make it out, he decided to give her some time and hopefully she wouldn't ask for space.

After she cleared the threshold of the bathroom, he again spoke. "Bones," he said in a questioning tone, "do you want to go ahead and get settled in the bed or do you want to go in the living room for a while?"

She was tired, exhausted even, but she was still chilled to her core and in pain. She couldn't really understand how she could feel a burning sensation and deep cold at the same time. She knew that if her mind was 100 percent clear she could explain the science behind pain receptors and core body temperatures being regulated by different areas of the brain but at the moment it was too much of an effort. She just wanted to get warm and comfortable. "I'm still freezing," she answered him. "I think I'll call the property manager and get him to send a worker to get a fire going in the living room," she explained.

"Bones," his kidding tone began to emerge through the tension in the room. "Army Ranger, Sniper, remember?" he said.

She looked at him with a slightly confused look. "I'm not sure how that is applicable in this situation, Booth," she bickered but a chill running through her spine stopped her from bickering any longer. "It's freezing in here . . ." she interrupted herself and stopped to check the already cranked up thermostat.

"I know, Bones," he replied. "I just meant I already have a fire going in the living room. Should be nice and toasty in there,' he explained.

"Ah," she responded. "Yes, preparedness is an excellent quality that I would expect you to possess it as a former Ranger."

It was a brief few minutes before Brennan was settled into the luxurious recliner Booth had strategically placed in the direct path of the warmth the fire would emit. She found herself staring into the red hot embers wondering about things. Would she be able to love him the way he deserved? Why was he so willing to risk his heart on someone unworthy like she was? Why didn't he think he needed to be protected from her? Why did all of the other countless men view her as damaged goods and the best man of all wanted to be with her in spite of all of her shortcomings? It clearly wasn't logical.

"Woohoo, Bones," he said as he noticed her staring into the fire from what he assumed was the aftermath of her stint in the freezing rain. "You haven't checked out or gone catatonic on me, have you?" he asked.

"No," she replied. "I won't check out for several days," she said.

He erupted in laughter. "Bones, it's an expression that means to die," he explained. "Here," he handed her a steaming hot cup of soup. "It's some of that gourmet black bean stuff. Seemed a little like that stuff you get at Mama's sometimes when we go."

She pulled the mug toward her face and allowed the aroma to waft into her nose. It really smelled quite delicious and it may have even seemed more aromatic since Booth had prepared it. She thought about all of the lengths he seemed to be going to ensuring that she was comfortable. He was so attentive to her needs. After doubting him, she clearly didn't deserve his pampering much less his offer of love.

"Smells good, Booth," she began as she stirred it slightly. "Please don't feel like . . . "

He cut her off before she could protest. "Bones, I already told you that I'm here. You aren't getting away from me or pushing me away," he explained. "You are stuck with me until you provide me with one piece of solid, irrefutable evidence that we won't work," he stated firmly. "We don't have to talk about it tonight," he went on. "You're hurting and I'm sure some kind of endoplasms or something are blocking your thoughts. . ."

"Endorphins," she cut in with her innate ability to correct him.

"Whatever," was his simple response to the correction and he went right in to his original thought. "We don't have to talk about it tonight. You need to rest, but just know that I want to talk about it. I'm here and I'm never leaving you. When you're ready, we'll talk about the rest."

She gave him a sweet, moderately reassuring smile. "Thanks, Booth," she answered and took a bite of the soup. "Mmmmm," she muttered. "This is quite good and very warm," she said.

He smiled back and then stood. "Let me get you some tea and some medicine that'll help you be able to get comfortable."

"I never said," she started to question his ability to read her every mood and ache but he cut in.

He smiled at her and simply said, "You don't have to; you never have to." He gave her a gentle squeeze on the shoulder and headed to find some pain meds and a steaming hot cup of tea for his frozen anthropologist, making a mental note to call her that the next day when she felt up to more bickering.


	58. Feelings for You

**A/N - Still more of a wait than I would have liked, but I think updates should become a little more steady. I am planning on updating each story weekly through the summer. Hopefully, I'll stick to the plan.**

**Thank you so much for all of the reviews and messages about this story. It's nice to know people are still enjoying it. Please continue to let me know what you think even if you hate it. I'm open to all kinds of feedback. **

**I struggled slightly with this chapter. I didn't want it to be too sappy or out of character. I hope it turned out well and you guys enjoy it.**

**Thanks to Junkiecat, Thnx4theGum, and GCatsPJs for their feedback and to MickeyBoggs for proofing.**

Disclaimer - I don't own Bones.

Chapter 58

Brennan thought about what Booth said. '_You don't have to. You never have to,'_ were his simple words and they echoed through to her core. He was right. She never had to tell him things. Booth knew her. He knew her tendencies, her likes, and her fears. He knew them even before she told them. Her walls had always been effective in keeping others from knowing what was going on in her emotions but they meant nothing against Booth. It was as if they didn't exist. He knew when she needed a hug, when she was scared, and when she was excited. He had shown up on her doorstep with Chinese after she found her mother's body. Heck, he had even flown to New Orleans for her and somehow had figured out where she was tonight.

As she was lost in thought, Booth returned with a steaming cup of tea, a cup of water, and a few pills. He went to hand her the pills and she cut him off. "Just set them on the table. I'm not ready for them yet," she said even though she was hurting. Her ankle throbbed and her chest burned with each breath. She had certainly overdone it and would most likely pay dearly for it the next day but hopefully, if this conversation went well, it'd all be worth it.

"Bones," he protested. "You're hurting. You need to take the meds and get some rest." He hated to see her hurting and trying to be strong. She was the strongest person he knew and sometimes he just wished she'd concede and let someone bear the burden for her.

Brennan cut him a very serious glance as she spoke. "I'm okay, Booth. I don't want to take anything yet. I want to talk," she said seriously. "If I take something now, I won't be able to stay awake long enough to have the conversation we need to have."

Booth didn't know if he should be proud or be scared that she actually wanted to talk. She could make him the happiest man on the planet or she could kick him out on his rear end. At the present moment, he didn't even want to guess at which one was more likely. He just nodded at her and took a seat on top of the table next to her. He considered positioning himself in front of her but most of the time when they had serious conversations, they sat side by side. It's how they sat when he told her about shooting General Raddick in front of his young son. They were companions and side by side was what they did best. It just seemed appropriate that they side that way now. He also knew that she may not want to look at him while she spoke. It was one of those moments when a simple touch would be enough.

"Bones," he finally said after sitting beside her and peering into the fire for a few seconds and allowing the flames to ease his nerves slightly. "We don't have to do this tonight," he continued.

She didn't even let him finish giving her an escape opportunity. She began to speak. "I'm not sure I'm capable of loving," she cut right to the chase. "I'm cold, unfeeling, and heartless," she spoke freely obviously telling him the things she had been told so many times by so many people that she had started to believe them.

He started to interrupt her when she started talking again. She was staring into the flames and kept her focus there. She had allowed herself to enter a somewhat trance like state as she spoke. "At least that's what everyone always told me," she continued. "It didn't matter if it was my lab partner in high school calling me the names of pop culture television characters I didn't understand or if it was some under achieving, wealthy student in English 101 telling me that I needed to get a life when I was obviously breathing, to them, I was a subpar human being. It's what everyone told me. After m . . . after my parents left, Booth, I had a decision to make," she continued to speak without really looking at him. It was clear she was emptying the contents of her heart out to him. She was laying it all out.

"I could decide to focus on what happened to me, on the answers I didn't have or I could choose to push the hurt deep down inside of me and go through life without feeling. I learned to compartmentalize very well," she said as she looked at him and he gave her a very simple nod of understanding before placing a hand on her forearm. She cracked a slight smile and went on. He could tell that she was pushing back the tears.

"It was hard. My first few months in foster care were challenging. I don't want you to know all the details but let's just say that my experiences didn't encourage me to give people the opportunity to befriend me." She minimized her experiences but she gave him enough information to see that he might not be able to know all the information and not actually commit murder. "I chose to work hard, use my stellar intelligence to graduate high school as a National Merit Scholar and take my pick of the colleges I wanted to attend."

"I could have gone anywhere but I chose Northwestern. I was interested in anthropology and their program was premiere but I think deep down I probably picked it because it was close enough to Chicago that if my parents came home, they'd be able to find me," she wiped a stray tear from her face. "I'm not sure if I ever gave up hope but it didn't take long for me to immerse myself in my studies and start working with the professors, including Michael, on digs and research projects. I finished faster than any other student and came to the Jeffersonian. I was a little surprised when I was hired. Sure, I was the foremost authority in some areas of forensic anthropology already and quickly gaining ground in the other areas but I was still surprised," she digressed slightly.

She quickly got back on course with her one sided discussion. "At the lab, I was able to do the same thing I did at Northwestern. I covered myself in work and did what I did best, worked with bones. I didn't have to worry about them leaving me and every single set had a story to tell. People's bones . . . they don't lie. They tell the story of their life and their death," she said.

"Everything was fine until I met you. Well, I guess it started a little bit before I met you with Angela but she was different. I love her, I really do, but with her it was more like she wanted to change me or get me to do things to benefit her. With you, it was different. It was like you wanted to do things for me. You poked and you prodded and showed me that it might be okay to trust a person again."

She paused for a few seconds. That part of the conversation was easy. The next part would be the hard part. "When I met you, I saw you as a person I might be able to call for a release from time to time. You were charming and kind but then you showed me that you might be like everyone else when you got me drunk to fire me. Then you rehired me but I had already dismissed you as anything more than a way to assist with current cases," she was still staring blankly into the fire. "Then you . . .you grabbed me and told me all those things that made you just like everyone else. At that point, I decided that I needed to retreat back to the lab and go back to what I did best-working with bones and not people."

Booth chose that moment to speak, "Bones, I'm sorry," he said. "I was just mad at you and I," she cut him off.

"Don't, Booth," she said firmly. "It's in the past. I'm different now and so are you. It is no longer a factor in my feelings for you."

'_Feelings for you,'_ Booth thought to himself. Those three simple words seemed to settle his nerves just a little.

"Anyway," she went on. "When you abducted me at the airport and I blackmailed you, I was set on using you to further my career and advance my field in the area of crime solving. What I wasn't set on was you becoming more," she chose her words very carefully. "I wasn't planning on you showing me that I could be a member of a family again and that I could forgive my biological family," she took a deep breath. The next part would be the hardest for her.

"I wasn't planning on that but I really wasn't planning on you becoming more to me," another tear streamed down her cheek. "You have become the person I want to hug me when I'm scared or to show up in the middle of the night with Thai food when I've had a rough day. You know me better than anyone ever has and you don't judge me because I'm insensitive or rude," she cracked a smile. "Sometimes, I think you may even find that part amusing," she said.

"I do," was his simple response.

Her nerves has calmed and she felt a weight lifted as she spoke. "You are the person I think about first in the morning. I used to think about bones, but now I think about you. I want you to be with me when I don't feel well or when I have a nightmare," she admitted. "I'm not sure I know what love is or even if it exists but I think these emotions I have are real and worth giving you the opportunity to teach me what it means to love someone."

Booth's face lit up like a small child in the candy store. "Really?" he questioned.

She gave him a simple nod. "I am afraid I will hurt you but I think I should take the chance that it won't end badly."

"Bones," he said. "It won't end badly. I've known for a really long time that I loved you. We are made for each other and I can definitely prove that to you." When he had said that, he leaned over and allowed his lips to brush hers. When she didn't pull away, he laced his fingers in her hair and they shared their first non-drunken, non-bribed kiss.

When they released, he looked her in the eyes. "Still okay?" he asked.

"Definitely," was Brennan's simple answer.

Booth smiled the grin she loved so much. "Now," he changed the subject. "Let's get you in bed."

"It will probably be best if I sleep in the recliner," she explained very clinically. "I am still quite uncomfortable lying on my back."

He allowed his grin to grow even larger. "Bones, you are not letting that huge, comfy bed go to waste," he argued. "I'll make sure you're comfortable before I hit the hay."

She couldn't be sure what gave her the courage to make her upcoming request but she did. "Booth, you could . . . you could stay in there with me, if you want to of course."

He looked at her in surprise. He wasn't expecting that. "Bones, are you sure?"

She nodded and the picked her medicine off of the table and swallowed the pills. "Positive," Brennan said after washing the medication down with water. "I will probably fall asleep fairly quickly. I need to change first," she said hoping that he had managed to round up something she could wear.

"Alright," he said as he stood up and walked down the hall. "I have you some pajama pants and a t-shirt. They'll be huge but probably pretty comfortable. Let me get them."

She watched as he walked into the laundry room and grabbed the pajamas before disappearing out of sight. He returned in just a few seconds and helped her maneuver to the bedroom. "Get changed and I'll help you get settled," he said.

After Booth stepped out of the room, Brennan began to put the clothing he had brought her on. She was still more cold than she wanted to be and the warm pajamas felt good on her cold body. She sighed. She was nervous about her admission but at the same time, she knew she had made the right decision. Booth was rarely wrong about matters of the heart and if he thought they could make it, they probably could. "Alright," I'm ready she said as she sat on the bed. He had already turned it down.

He entered the room with the extra pillows from the spare bedroom. "These will help you be more comfortable he said. "And this," he pulled something from his pocket. "Is for your ankle. I had them replace all the missing items from my SUV's first aid kit last week." He held up the clean ace bandage so she could see it.

"Ugh," she whined. "I'm really tired of dealing with all this," she protested. "I'll be fine without wrapping it for one night," she said.

"Nuh uh, Bones," he used his laughing but still alpha male tone. "Just lay back and I'll take care of it," Booth said. He knew she was sleepy and achy and probably didn't feel like moving.

She did as instructed and Booth wrapped her ankle tenderly and carefully. When he was finished he said, "Let me get changed. Be right back."

He exited and then reappeared within five minutes. Brennan smiled at him when she noticed his cartoon character t-shirt and superman pajama pants. "Parker got them for me for father's day last year. I have to wear them or he'll be upset," he said and she gave him a simple nod.

With that, he climbed beside her on the bed and helped her get more comfortable. She was asleep almost instantly but he knew sleep wouldn't come easily for him. He simply held her, listened to her steady breathing, and reveled in his newly found contentment. When he was sure she was deeply asleep, he placed a simple kiss on her head and said, "Bones, I am more sure that we'll make this than I have ever been of anything."


	59. Neon Spandex

**A/N – Sorry for the delay. I have no excuse really except for lack of inspiration for the story. I'm going to try and update Pressure and this again in the next few days if I can get the words to flow. We'll see how that goes.**

**Thanks for all the feedback on the last chapter. I'm glad you guys are still enjoying and hope you will continue to let me know what you think.**

**This story is starting the downhill to the finish. I am not sure how many more chapters until I finish it, but it's coming. **

**Thanks to MickeyBoggs for proofing and to GCatsPJs, Thnx4theGum and Junkiecat for helping me get this finished. If you haven't read and reviewed their stuff, please do.**

_Disclaimer – I don't own Bones._

Chapter 59

"Be still, Sweetie," Angela fussed. The anthropologist and the artist were struggling to get Brennan's Halloween costume on without causing her pain.

It had been almost two weeks since she and Booth had 'hooked up' as Angela called it and it had been a wonderful two weeks. Booth had been very attentive to her needs for the first 24 hours they spent in her mountain cabin and then the rest of the time, he was beside her at every event. He intimidated the overly zealous fans and pressured her publicist to allow her to leave earlier than she would have normally been allowed. They had shared a few intimate moments including hugs and light kisses. He was truly a gentleman and this was the first time Brennan had experienced a man who seemed to have an affinity for who she was and not for what she looked liked or could give them. Sully was probably the closest to achieving that of any other man, but Sully was more selfish than selfless. He was '_one of the good guys,' _like Booth had once called him but his focus was narrow. It was all about how she could join him and have a magical experience but never how he could meet her where she was. He could never just be content.

Booth, on the other hand, was the picture of contentment. He was content with sitting at a table in the diner and eating pie while she ranted about the sugar content and trans fat in the dessert. He was content with walking beside her a she struggled with her crutches and later massaging her shoulder and upper back to relieve the strain. He was simply content with her. For him, she was enough.

"Ow," Brennan said with a harsh wince as Angela continued to pull and yank at the bottoms of her costume and accidentally jarred her ankle a little more than Brennan would have liked.

"Sorry," Angela responded. "I'll be done soon. You are going to look so hot."

Brennan rolled her eyes. "More than likely, I'll be physically hot in this costume," she fussed. "Where on earth did you find these anyway? They look as though they are made of some kind of polymer. I'm fairly certain pants are not supposed to be this shiny," she continued with her protest. "Or this tight!"

"I've had these pants since I was a teenager. Had to love neon, spandex leggings," the artist said laughingly. "The jacket was one of Hodgins' old girlfriend's. Remember the one who left the lipstick all over the glass that Christmas?"

Brennan nodded. She remembered that Christmas experience. Even though she hated psychology, she would have to admit that those two days were a milestone in her emotional development. It was when she began to change. "I remember," she said simply.

Angela began to ramble aimlessly about how she and Hodgins were working things out and the experiences they 'd had over the last few days. Brennan was lost in her own thoughts. She really didn't need to hear about more lunches in the Egyptian room or in one of Hodgins' imported cars. She focused on Angela as she said her final thoughts. "So, anyway, Bren," she waited for her friend to focus on her. When she met her eyes, she went on. "I decided that I've been way too selfish for my entire life. I did this with Kirk. I made him accept our relationship on my terms and I ended up losing him. I did the same thing with Hodgins. It was always about me and I figured that out when Hodgins didn't come running after me when I walked out of the diner that day. I guess I thought of myself as some kind of prize or something," she went on. "I realize though now, that I should have to work at some things. I don't know. . ." she said with a bit of uncertainty. "Maybe my dad spoiled me or something. I've learned my lesson now."

"Well, anthropologically, history show that families that singlets tend to be more likely to exhibit narcissistic behaviors such as greed or conceit," Brennan explained. "While I don't think you are on the extreme end of that spectrum, I have observed some behaviors typically attributed to ego centric individuals."

"Brennan!" Angela protested. "You are supposed to be my best friend and not agree with me when I call myself spoiled."

The anthropologist looked like a deer in the headlights for a split second. "I'm sorry. I am assuming this is one of the situations that a lie would have been more appropriate than the truth?"

"Uh huh," the artist said with a slight smile. She knew her best friend was right but it still burned a little bit to hear it from someone else. "Let's get your hair done. I brought the Texan hair spray."

* * *

An hour later, Angela was dressed as some character from the 80s or early 90s that Brennan couldn't recognize. She recognized hairstyle and selection of a cone bra but she had no clue who she was really supposed to be. "Who are you attempting to impersonate anyway?" Brennan asked.

"I'm not telling you that one, Bren," Angela teased. "You can either ask Booth or look it up on Google. Just be careful," she warned with a smile. "You might end up in one of Jack's pornados by googling that one."

Brennan didn't really give Angela's costume a second thought. It really didn't matter to her. She was seated on her couch icing her ankle from a relatively long but uneventful day of identifying limbo remains. She was healing well and was beginning to make a little bit of progress. Her pain was once again manageable with non-narcotics and her ribs were feeling much better. She was thankful for that. Booth had been very good to massage her shoulders and to allow her to sleep while propped slightly against his chest and that seemed to be the correct position to elicit the maximum amount of healing.

"How's my injured student doing this afternoon?" came a very distinctive voice from the doorway.

She couldn't help the automatic response. Brennan's eyes rolled at his greeting. "I am not your student, Booth," she protested.

"Clearly, this costume is that of an injured ski student but I am not nor will I ever be your student."

Booth turned on his very best charm smile as he crouched beside her and got right up in her face. "Oh really?" he challenged, his breath warming her skin as her eyes danced over his features for a moment, holding a glint of mischief.

"That is correct," the stubborn anthropologist's tone was strong yet playful, her eyes narrowing.

As soon as the final syllable left her lips, his breath combined with hers as their lips converged. Though he had only expected the kiss to last a moment, before he had a chance to control himself, her hand was settled at the base of his neck, and she was pulling him harder into herself. After several moments of passionate kissing, they separated reluctantly, and both waited for the other to speak.

They didn't have to wait long for the sound of a tapping foot in the doorway to pull them from their passionate standoff. "You have got to be kidding me," Angela said, shaking her head, though she couldn't hide the smile of amusement that had found its way to her lips.

"What?" Brennan asked innocently, unconsciously wiping her lips with her thumb as Angela approached the two of them and stood with her arms crossed.

"I knew you said that you guys were going to try and go to the next level but I had no idea that you two belong behind one of those little cover up card things on the magazine rack at the grocery store," she said as she sat beside Brennan on the couch. "That was so hot!"

Booth just laughed and Brennan blushed as much as was possible. "Very funny Angela," the prudish agent said as he sat beside his now girlfriend on the couch. "You okay?" he asked Brennan.

She nodded and gave him a smile. She pulled the ice off her foot and then sat up a little straighter. "I'm fine. Just needed to follow the protocol Marc and Dr. Jameson instructed me to follow. I'll be very appreciative when this entire ordeal is over and I can once again be a completely functional human," she fussed.

"I am pretty sure you are already functional," he said as he plopped beside her on the couch. "Nice Madonna costume, Angela," he teased. "Just don't tell me where you came up with the cone bra."

"I'll just tell Brennan," the artist teased back, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Booth turned a bright shade of red as he rolled my eyes. "So, where's my costume?" he asked.

"Hanging on the back of the door," Angela answered dryly. "Go get changed so you can tend to your _pupil."_

He kissed Brennan on the top of his head, stood, and walked toward the door.

"Alright now, Bren. You've totally been holding out on me," Angela fussed. "You can't tell me you kissed a man that passionately and can't know for sure that you love him?"

"I have seen you kiss Hodgins in a similar fashion many times," Brennan snapped back almost instantly.

Angela was slightly surprised with her friend's retort. "It's different with us. Hodgins and I have to work at love. Most people do."

Brennan nodded. "Then why do you pressure me to enter into a monogamous relationship with Booth so frequently?"

"Because what you have with Booth is different than anything I've ever seen. What you have will be there regardless if you are together or not. You could put the two of you at opposite ends of the earth and you would still have it," Angela put her hand on her friend's shoulder as she spoke. "You guys are permanent whether you want to be or not. It's natural, like the way the sun causes the tide."

Brennan automatically detected the error. "The rise and fall of the tide is a direct result of the moon," she began to explain but was cut off.

"And that makes a difference because. . . ?" Angela challenged.

"I suppose it doesn't'," Brennan admitted. "So why do you expect me to give in to what I am _supposed _to have when you act as if it's a choice for you and Hodgins?"

"I guess I don't know, Sweetie," Angela said as she pulled her friend in for a hug. "I am probably just as scared as you about all of this."

Brennan nodded. She knew it was true. Love was biologically explainable to her but biology was predictable and love wasn't. "I'll have to admit that the past week or so with Booth has shown me that relationships can be quite enjoyable without a sexual release when I am with him. He is very attentive and it's as if he doesn't expect something from me. He just wants to be with me."

"You finally figured it out. He always wants to be with you. That's why he hangs around here more than his own office, Sweetie. That man has it bad for you," Angela laughed.

"Well, I would have to admit, in the vernacular, I have it bad as well," she said with a smile.

"Have what bad?" Booth said as he popped back through the door.

"Nothing," Angela snapped. "You look hot, Booth. I wouldn't have thought the baggier ski clothing could be so sexy but it works on you." She laughed and headed toward the door to give them some time alone.

"You look beautiful, Bones," Booth said as he took in the sight of her for the first time without an extra set of ears.

Brennan grabbed her ankle wrap and boot from the floor in between the table and couch and began to put them on. "I don't feel beautiful," she said with a sigh. "I feel a little over the top."

He sat on the table and took the supplies from her and took over the job of securing her foot. "The fact that you are wearing those tight pants and that parka will drive all the men crazy but it's you that's beautiful. The costume doesn't change that."

"Thanks, Booth," she replied. "I have to say that Angela is right about you making that apparel look good."

He kissed her on the cheek before making the last few clicks on her space boot. "So, what's the run down on this shindig?" he asked.

"The usual. There will be lots of donors and staff members. I'll be expected to snob nob with the elite donors," she said succinctly.

He started laughing immediately. "I'm not even going to correct you on that one, Bones. You actually have it right."

She clearly didn't understand why he found her explanation so amusing but didn't focus on it much since he immediately changed the course of the conversation.

"So," he went on. "This is our first real appearance as a couple," he explained. "Are you nervous?"

She shook her head. "I'm not ashamed of you Booth. Clearly, you display excellent breeding attributes and hold a very distinguished job even though you aren't compensated as well as you should be. I am happy you will be going with me," she gave him a smile. "Besides, these things are more enjoyable with you to make fun of all of the donors after they walk away."

"I want you to dance with me tonight, Bones," he asked sweetly. He knew it would be hard for her since she still couldn't put any weight on her foot. "I want to dance with you as my girlfriend."

She knew what he meant. He wanted her to prove something to him. He needed her to tell him she was with him all the way. She didn't understand love but she understood him and she knew she needed to give him something. "Booth, I'm sorry," she began but was quickly cut off.

"I know, never mind, Bones," he said with a sad tint in his words. "You're hurt. I shouldn't have asked."

"No, Booth. It's not that I don't want to because I do but I'm not sure that my attempting to dance would be a wise decision, even with your support," Brennan explained. "I will dance with you at the Christmas Gala," she offered.

"You don't have to worry about it, Bones. I'm a big boy. I'll survive without a dance." He pouted but stood to get her crutches. The needed to get going.

"Booth, stop," she said. "I know what you are thinking."

"Bones," he replied tensely. He really didn't mean to make this emotional.

She gave him a reassuring smile. "It's okay, Booth. I don't blame you. I didn't give you much when we talked at the cabin but I've realized a few things since then. You are nervous that I won't be around at Christmas and the dance is a metaphor for our relationship. Romantic partners have used dance as a display of their affection for years. You are afraid that I won't dance with you because I don't share that affection," she looked to him and saw the fear in his eyes.

He gave her a simple nod. She might not be good at reading people but she had hit the nail on the head with this one.

"Don't worry about that. Since you met me on the side of the road, I've done a lot of thinking and gathered a lot of evidence and I've come to the conclusion that you are more than worth the risk. Love may be a biological response but that response is extremely pleasant and isn't diminishing. I can honestly say that I am learning to love you, Booth," she said with an exhale. She was glad she had said it. "I will be around at Christmas to dance with you and I'll dance with you on any other trivial holiday you desire."

Booth's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "I love you, Bones."

She nodded at him, not quite ready to utter the words but she knew she returned the feelings. "Booth, do you think that maybe tonight we could leave the party early and go back to my apartment?" she asked shyly.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Positive," she replied before he handed her the crutches and they made their way to the party as a confident, official couple.


	60. Patience Is a Virtue

**A/N – Sorry for the completely inexcusable delay in this. I've had so much real life stuff on my plate that I haven't had time to even think about writing. Hopefully, I'll be able to stay with it and get this one wrapped up in the next couple of weeks. Feel free to bug me about it. **

**This chapter is shorter than what I like to post but I wanted to get something up so you guys would see that I was at least thinking about it.**

**Thanks so much for all the amazing feedback on the fic. I completely understand if I've lost all my readers but if you are still reading, leave me a review to let me know what you think or to just yell at me for taking forever. Whatever is fine.**

**Thanks to MickeyBoggs for proofing this and to GCatsPJs, Sirenizzed, Junkiecat, and Ceeray3 for staying on me to write.**

**Hope you enjoy it! Hopefully more will come in the next week or so.**

_Disclaimer – I don't own Bones._

Chapter 60

The night of the Halloween party had certainly been magical for Booth and Brennan. It was so magical, in fact, that Brennan refused to give Angela any details about their consummation. She understood fully why Booth had always been so secretive about his sexual encounters. Something so special and intimate belonged between the two participants and no one else.

Brennan's refusal to reveal the "deets," as Angela often called them, didn't stop the prodding artist from trying. So here Brennan was, one month and many, many encounters with her boyfriend later, walking into the Jeffersonian hoping she wouldn't run into her best friend and face yet another interrogation.

"Sweetie," Angela yelled from her office as Brennan almost crossed the threshold of her own. "You are late for you, that must mean you and Booth had yet another "so amazing that you won't tell me about it" romp in the shower this morning."

Brennan just rolled her eyes. "Angela, we've gone over this before. What Booth and I do in the laundry room is not a public topic."

Angela's jaw dropped at Brennan's accidental slip. "Laundry room! Really Brennan, you have to tell me! Was the washer on the spin cycle?" She was hot on her best friend's slow-moving pace. "Brennan, you can't let this one go!"

"I most certainly can, Angela," she said definitively. "Besides, I need your help with something."

"Need me to help you bring one of your steamy scenes to life?" the artist asked.

The anthropologist considered telling her that she would no longer need her vivid imagination when it came to writing steamy scenes but opted against it since it would only make Angela more aggressive in her efforts for information. "No," she answered. "But thank you. I actually need some help getting Parker's birthday party together," she explained. "I'm not adept at planning something for people whose epiphyseal plates have yet to fully fuse."

"Nice one, Sweetie," Angela laughed. "Most people use the term children instead of the big words but I love you for it. What kind of party are we talking about, when is it, and why isn't his mother planning it?"

Brennan began to answer the questions. She had some of the same ones at the simple party she had given Booth for his birthday. It had been simple, just Parker, Booth, Cam, Angela, Hodgins, and Sweets. She had made macaroni and cheese and had ordered a huge apple pie from the diner. It was a true family affair. Something for which Booth had been very appreciative. "He wants a party in the paleontology wing, it's in two weeks, and Rebecca is going to be gone on business. She should be home the night of the party but won't be able to be there," she answered all the questions in one sentence. She omitted the details about how Rebecca would be taking Parker to Upstate New York to her boyfriend's parents' house for Thanksgiving despite Booth's protests. He wanted them to spend Thanksgiving as a family and had required consolation when he saw his protests were futile. It would just be the two of them for Thanksgiving and they planned a simple romantic dinner together.

"We totally have to go to the party store, Sweetie. I'll walk down to paleontology. There's this guy down there who follows me around like a puppy every year at the Christmas party. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to do me a favor," Angela was clearly getting excited about the opportunity.

Brennan looked at her friend with a confused set of eyes. "Aren't you back with Hodgins?" she asked

"Mitch the Dino Dude doesn't have to know that," Angela said as she headed out of her friend's office.

"That's not his real name is it?" Brennan said in a confused tone when she didn't receive a response.

* * *

Booth looked over at the person seated next to him in his SUV and then glanced in his rear view mirror to the person seated behind them. He was tempted to pull the car over to enjoy the moment. Both of them were sleeping and making the sounds unique to each of them. He realized that he had everything he ever wanted.

Being romantically involved with Temperance Brennan was better than he ever imagined. She was spontaneous when it came to making love but she was also loving and willing. The thing that possibly surprised him the most was that she let him be gentle with her. Her mangled ankle limited her mobility. He had expected her to resist his gentle side but she hadn't. She had let him care for her and protect her while making love. It was an allowance he had received from no other woman before. It just reiterated how absolutely perfect they were for each other.

As a man of the law, Booth wasn't much of a sap. He hated musicals and romantic things but he couldn't stop the romantic thoughts from swirling through his mind. They really were perfect for each other. From the way their bodies mingled while sleeping to the way her head fit in the crook of his arm while they were talking, they just fit. He was confident he could love her forever. He could never love anyone the way he loved her.

Now, here he was, driving his son home after a birthday party his girlfriend had arranged. She did a wonderful job and everything was perfect. She had taken care of the activities, goodie bags, and cake. She had even arranged for the kids to watch a dinosaur movie in the theater. He remembered her telling him about the video she picked. "I watched the video this afternoon," she had said. "It's not exactly accurate and omits many scientific principles but I think the animation and sound effects, no matter how inaccurate, will hold their attention for the allotted time."

Just thinking of her words made him laugh. She had told him on more than one occasion that she wasn't good with children but she was amazing with Parker. They were perfect together and they were, what many would call, the perfect family.

Despite the perfectness of their relationship, and the perfect feelings he had at the moment, there was one nagging fear Booth had. She had yet to verbalize three simple words and that scared him. Sure, she'd slipped up when she was drugged and let the words slip but she hadn't said them when she was fully cognizant. Saying "I love you" wasn't really important and Booth knew it. All of the actions she made toward him screamed "I love you" but he really wanted to hear it from her. He knew Brennan guarded her heart like Fort Knox and that she wouldn't utter those words unless she was really ready to commit for a lifetime. He knew if she would just say the words, he could be sure she would be with him for 40 or 50 years and that he could look forward to waking up next to her when they were old and gray.

He also knew that he couldn't rush her. She needed time to adjust to things and internalize concepts. He would just have to be patient with her. Luckily, patience was something he had lots of.

His mind settled some as he pulled up in Rebecca's driveway. Thankful to see the light on, meaning that she had actually gotten home, he threw the car into park. Brennan stirred a little at the loss of the hum of the engine. "Let me just get. . ." she started.

"I got it, Bones," he cut her off. "Just stay put. I"ll get him in the house and then I'll take you home."

"Hmmm," she nodded and let her head lean back against the window. "You're staying with me, tonight?" she asked without opening her eyes.

"Always, Bones, always." he said as he climbed out of the car and began pulling his son from the back seat.


	61. Can I See Your Scar?

**A/N – The wait wasn't quite as long this time but sorry I made you wait. I am much less busy right now and my muse seems to be cooperating – this week at least. I'm working toward wrapping this story up in 8 more chapters or so. Hopefully, I'll be able to update consistently and get this one completely in the next month or so.**

**Thanks so much for letting me know what you think. I'm really thankful I still have readers out there. Please continue to let me know if you liked it, loved it, or hated it.**

**Thanks to MickeyBoggs, Sirenizzed, GCatsPJs, Junkiecat, and Thnx4theGum for helping me out on this story. **

_Disclaimer – I don't own Bones!_

Chapter 61

"You ready for this, Bones?" Booth asked. He was currently seated, once again, in a harsh, plastic chair beside a hospital bed. His knee was jumping like it always did when he was nervous.

Brennan, however, wasn't nervous. The fact that this day had finally come was a relief to her. "I'm ready. The MRI showed that all my ligaments and tendons appear to have healed properly and that it's even possible that some of my osteoclasts actually adhered to the titanium plate and could result in a complicated removal of the plate."

Booth chuckled and rolled his eyes. "I know, I know," he said with sarcasm in his words. "You always have to be the best at everything. Are you sure you aren't genetically engineered to be perfect?" he teased.

"That's highly unlikely considering scientists in the 1970s were still identifying the exact structure of DNA. They wouldn't have been able to. . ." she was going to continue explaining but saw the smirk on his face. "You were picking on me again, weren't you?"

"Me? Pick on you? Never," Booth claimed and was quickly met with her pouty face. "You know you are cute when you pout," he said.

Just as she was about to protest, a knock at the door stopped the banter. "Dr. Brennan?" Dr. Jamison said as he poked his head through the door.

"Hey, Doc!" Booth said first before Brennan even had a chance to speak. He stood to shake the orthopedist's hand.

"You two ready to get this show on the road?" he asked as he pulled the rolling stool up by the gurney upon which Brennan was seated.

"I'm ready to return to some normalcy. This injury has certainly impeded my work," she said clinically.

"She's got to dance with me in a few weeks at the Christmas Gala," Booth chimed in while sporting his best grin.

Jamison just nodded and laughed. "I'll see what I can do to get you in stilettos for a few minutes in a few weeks." He then pulled the blanket off his patient's leg. "Let me just check a couple of things and we'll get you in the OR," he said and immediately began manipulating her ankle.

Booth looked on nervously. He recalled the night almost three months ago when an ER doctor examined her mangled ankle for the first time. She had put up her best fight against the pain and she was very strong. The pain still gripped her. He studied her face looking for the signs of pain. This time, he caught a few winces and saw a few creases on her forehead but her strength overpowered any pain she felt. She was definitely strong, definitely his Bones. He loved her for her strength and persistence.

It was only a few short minutes later when Jamison finished up. "The nurse will be in soon. We'll get you prepped and hopefully have you home in time to catch a Christmas special on TV," he joked.

Brennan just smiled. It was hard to believe that Thanksgiving had come and gone and now it was time to think about Christmas. She couldn't help it; she became sentimental for a few minutes. Thanksgiving, which had only been a week and a half earlier, had been wonderful. It was the first Thanksgiving in over 15 years that she had been a part of a family. She had turned down three invitations to digs in order to spend the holiday with her family. The funny thing was that she turned down the dig invitations before she even considered her ankle. She wanted to stay in DC. No skeleton or mummy or subspecies could pull her away from that.

She knew that it was out of character for her but she considered the holiday magical. They had a quiet meal at her apartment. It was Booth, Parker, Max, Russ, Amy, Emma, and Haley. She had cooked most of the meal with Booth's help. It was a comfortable time that wasn't strained by memories of the past. Things were different now for all of them. They might not trust each other fully when it came to trivial matters but she knew that her family had her back and that was something she had missed. She decided that Booth had taught her to let people have her back.

* * *

"Dad?" a very bored, very antsy Parker Booth said as he was sitting on the couch dangling his feet. "When are we going to get to do something?"

Booth huffed, "Parker, you just got here and Bones is still sleeping. Why don't you turn on the television?"

"Uggghh," was the sigh that a normally content Parker let out.

At that moment, the elder of the duo knew something was up. "What is it, Parker? This is about more than being bored?"

The little boy sniffled a little bit. "It's nothing, really, Dad," he minimized but didn't stop talking. "I just really want to spend Christmas with you and Bones," he explained. "Mom wants to take me on some stupid trip to her family out in Idaho or Iowa or somewhere where there's nothing but a bunch of fields. It's not like I can even play baseball in those fields 'cause there's snow everywhere right now."

"Parker," Booth said with a sigh. "We don't always get what we want. I want to spend Christmas and every other day of the year with you but we gotta respect your mom." He said these things out of respect for his ex-lover but didn't believe his own words. Truth be told, he was tired of Rebecca playing games with holidays. He'd figure something out to make sure Parker had a great Christmas. He already knew his Christmas would be great this year because he had Bones but he hated to think of his son bored on Christmas day.

Booth thought for a second more. "Listen, bub, I'll talk to Bones and we'll work something out, okay?"

Parker just nodded in response and started flipping channels. It was only a few seconds later that Brennan emerged from her bedroom. To Booth's surprise, she was dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She looked completely worn out but better than anyone he had ever seen who had undergone surgery just 6 hours earlier.

"Bones!" Parker chirped. "You're wearing a shoe!"

Brennan just smiled a little bit and made her way to a chair before speaking. She put her shoe clad foot up on the coffee table. She felt fairly well considering she was still moderately medicated. She still felt extremely tired, though, and didn't want to stand any longer than necessary.

"You okay, Bones?" Booth asked as he got up for the couch and made his way to her.

"I'm fine," she said. It wasn't a lie. She really was fine considering the circumstances. "I figured you and Parker wanted to go to dinner."

As she was talking, Parker got up and gently sat on the coffee table beside her propped up leg. Before Brennan and Booth even noticed, he was looking intently at the tennis shoe that was loosely laced on Brennan's left foot.

After a couple of seconds, his curiosity got the best of him. "Where'd the space boot go, Bones?" he asked as he pulled at the tongue of her shoe a little.

"Parker!" Booth said sharply to his eight-year-old. "Be careful!" he was a little more stern than needed but he couldn't stand the thought of Parker hurting her, even in the least.

"I'm fine, Booth," she said. "It wasn't a space boot, Parker," she explained. "I don't have to wear it anymore since the plate and screws were extracted from my lateral malleolus this morning. I have this smaller brace that I have to wear." She pulled her pants leg up a little bit to reveal a black, firm brace. "Most likely, I'll have several braces to wear before I achieve full range of motion and can walk without a limp."

"Can I see your scar?" Parker asked with a little more enthusiasm than Booth would like.

"PARKER!" Booth protested but Brennan beat him to the punch.

"Parker," Brennan explained more gently. "Under the brace I just showed you, I have a couple of layers of gauze and some stitches. I have to keep that on for a couple of days. Also, if I take the brace off, my ankle may swell up more and I won't be able to try and walk on it Sunday morning. What if," she offered, "I show you my X-rays now and then next time you are here, I'll let you see my scar?"

Parker nodded with a smile on his face.

"Booth," Brennan asked, "Can you hand me the envelope from the table by the door?

He did as requested and smiled at his two favorite people in the world happily geeking out of X-rays.

* * *

"I didn't tell you the other day, Bones," Booth said quietly in the waiting room, "But you were great with Parker when he was pestering about seeing your scar."

Brennan smiled through her apprehension. She knew Booth was trying to distract her from the task ahead. "I see no reason to deny him the opportunity to learn about the skeletal and muscular systems."

"Always the scientist," Booth said. "Are you nervous?" he cut to the chase and slid a little closer to her.

"I find, while irrational, that the thought of placing weight on my left foot is quite distressing," she said honestly. She wasn't going to hide her fears from him anymore.

He pulled her close to him and placed a kiss in her hair. "It's been almost three months since you've been able to walk, Bones. Those fears are anything but irrational," he said lovingly. "Tell you what," he said with his best grin. "Work hard and I'll take you out for ice cream later."

She rolled her eyes and he just laughed at her. "Hey! That works on Parker."

"I'm not a child, Booth," she protested with a laugh.

"I'm very well aware of that, Dr. Brennan," he teased back. "But, I'm also aware that my childish offer just distracted you from your fears and Mr. Feelgood just stepped out of his office." Booth had nicknamed Marc a few weeks earlier when he learned that calf and foot massages were part of his role in Brennan's therapy. Was he jealous? Absoultely. He should be the one massaging his girlfriend when she hurt.

"His name is Marc and you know I don't like psychology. It's a…" she said as she gathered her crutches.

"Soft science," Booth interrupted. "I've never heard that one before," he said, teasingly. "Let's go, Bones. Soon you'll be a biped again." He had listened to her scientific explanations so many times that he found it amusing to use her terms against her.

"How do you even know what that means?" she bickered as they walked down the hall.

Booth just laughed. "I am a constant surprise," he said and smacked her rear end. He definitely liked their relationship.

Brennan was glad that Booth was a step behind her. She didn't want him to see the huge grin that grew on her face as he picked on her. She was definitely learning that the concept of monogamy could be very, very appealing.

**Hopefully I'll get more up for you guys soon. Let me know what you thought. Thanks for reading!**


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